GPS for rowing boat speed

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Has anyone used a GPS receiver for rowing boat speed indication? With the cessation of selective availability, will GPS give consistant readings at rowing boat speeds?

-- Chris Sheehan (csheehan@eol.ca), April 27, 2001

Answers

email fellow rower Pete Corbett at banksman@yahoo.com. He's become a gps junkie and can probly give you all you need for info. At the advice of a commercial fisherman I went codfish jigging with ten years ago in Chatham, before falling for gps or at that time loran,"Learn the old fashioned way first. Use a compass and TRUST your compass.Get loca chats and bring them with you. Be aware local conditions, which way the eel grass is flowing, color of the water, state of the tide, sky signs. I find it's alot more fun looking at the world rather than looking at a screen. By the way the gentleman who gave me this advice jigged until he was 80 and told stories about rowing his dory at the age of ten through the Chatham Cut and back after a day of fishing. Consider the fact this youngster went through one of the most dangerous inlets on the East Coast in a boat that was empty in the morning and came back with the dory loaded with 800 to 1000lbs of fish. Local knowlege and a dory compass was all he carried for nav gear. Capt. Ryder by the way is thankfully still with us. Sorry for the

-- Capt. Rehab (bdonahue@capecodvoice.com), April 27, 2001.

email fellow rower Pete Corbett at banksman@yahoo.com. He's become a gps junkie and can probly give you all you need for info. At the advice of a commercial fisherman I went codfish jigging with ten years ago in Chatham, before falling for gps or at that time loran,"Learn the old fashioned way first. Use a compass and TRUST your compass.Get local charts and bring them with you. Be aware of local conditions; which way the eel grass is flowing, color of the water, state of the tide, sky signs, bird and animal signs. I find it's alot more fun looking at the world rather than looking at a screen. By the way the gentleman who gave me this advice jigged until he was 80 and told stories about rowing his dory at the age of ten through the Chatham Cut and back after a day of fishing. Consider the fact this youngster went through one of the most dangerous inlets on the East Coast in a boat that was empty in the morning and came back with the dory loaded with 800 to 1000lbs of fish. Local knowlege and a dory compass was all he carried for nav gear. Capt. Ryder by the way is thankfully still with us. Sorry for the

-- Capt. Rehab (bdonahue@capecodvoice.com), April 27, 2001.

Chris, we row 32' Cornish Pilot gigs with 6 oars and a cox. Our mens team uses it as a training tool because when we are practicing for an upcoming race, most times we are out there rowing by ourselves. Hard to judge how fast you are going without another boat beside you. The GPS tells us when the rate falls. Can't fool the GPS. If the cox can't readily tell which rower is the problem we do maneuvers whereby one (or two) rower(s) at a time is taken out and the cox keeps track of our rates. So the problem shows up and can be fixed prior race time. As for navigation we rarely use it, mostly for speed rate. Mike J

-- Mike Jenness (teamsaquish@mediaone.net), July 19, 2001.

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