Sea Kayak Navigation

Franco began sea kayaking at the age of fifteen. He was lucky enough to be brought up in the Channel Islands. The small scattered islands, fast tidal streams and summer fogs ensured that navigation was a key skill learnt at an early age. In 1978 he was one of a team of three Jerseymen who completed the first circumnavigation of Ireland by sea kayak. In 1989, with Kevin Danforth, he made a made a record breaking unsupported crossing of the North Sea. He is the managing director of Pesda Press and still occasionally manages to fit in some freelance coaching (he is a BCU Level 5 Coach). He now lives in Wales and his interests are sea kayaking, whitewater, rock and ice climbing, and ski-mountaineering. His current passion is a twenty-nine foot yacht called 'Firebird'. He has paddled throughout the United Kingdom and in many parts of the world including Nepal, Scandinavia, the coast of Brittany in France, the European Alps, Peru and Western Canada.

• 1 Keeping it Simple 9Handrails 9Eyeball navigation 102 Decktop Navigation 11Passage planning 11Equipment 123 Tides 15High & low water 15Flood & ebb 18Tidal movement 18Tidal range 19Tidal stream behaviour 204 Maps & Charts 22Charts 22Maps 23Scale 23Symbols & abbreviations 265 Basic Navigation 29Direction 29Distance, speed, time taken 30Keeping track of progress 316 Buoyage & Lights 36Lateral buoys 38Cardinal marks 39Other marks 39Lights 407 The Compass 42Magnetic variation 43No chart work approach 46Types of compass 46Chart work 488 Position 51Latitude & longitude 52Bearing & distance 539 Predicting Tides 55Tide tables 56Tidal streams on charts 58Tidal stream atlases 59Pilot books 61Sea kayaking guides 65Eyeball MK1 6510 Allowing for Wind & Tide 67Allowing for tide 67Correcting for tide 71Allowing for wind 72Correcting for wind 7511 Handheld GPS 77Settings 78Position 79Direction 82Distance 82Speed 82Putting waypoints into your GPS 83On the water 84Routes 86Chart plotting GPS receivers 8812 Open Crossings 90Simple strategies 90Correcting for tide over more than an hour 9113 Poor Visibility 96Preparation 96Night vision 98Useful Tactics 98GPS & poor visibility 100Organisation & leadership 10014 Planning a Trip 102