Got lost on the water this weekend.

[roffey]

I just put my boat in this weekend after a long winter nap. It was a beautiful day and the sun was out. I had a rum a coke under my belt. The boat was calling to me to go for a ride. My lake is 14 miles long with over 500 miles of shore line and hundreds of bays. I have been on this lake for one year now. I have been around boats and the water for over 50 years and figured it would be no problem. I decided to see if I could get to the end of the lake, I've done it before. Well, I made it to the end of the lake but when I started to return I kept running into dead end bays, I got lost. I was 6 hours on the water when I expected to be may be two. I started with a full tank and was down to one third and the sun was setting, I still did not have my bearings and was on the wrong end of the lake. I thought for sure I was spending the night on the water in my 20 ft bow rider. Happy ending for me, I did finally get back home but learnt a valuable lesson. Bring water with me on a long ride. A compass and chart will go a long way and I have downloaded a GPS and maps to my smart phone.

 

[jigngrub]

Sounds like someone hasn't been paying attention for the last 50 yrs.

 

[roffey]

yes, and maybe a little to confident in waters I don't know. It was a lesson I wont forget, trust me.

 

[southkogs]

Cool little APP if you wanna' check it out - Navionics. I posted some stuff HERE about it. I got myself spun around in the dark on one of the impounds here near Nashville and had to use the NAV feature to get back to the pier. Worked pretty nicely.

 

[roffey]

I will look into it. I have a fish finder GPS but do not want to install it as I would have to drill holes in my brand new boat. If I can use a app I am for it and would pay no problem. Don't want to go through that again. Still recovering from the experience, LOL.

 

[roffey]

OK, I did a little checking and it look like this is an app for your IPhone to transfer your rout to the Garmin? I looked around and found this one just for my IPhone http://www.gpsnauticalcharts.com not sure if its any good or not.

 

[southkogs]

The Garmin / Active Captain stuff was based for the Garmin GPS that I have, but the package was kind of expensive (for what I need).

The Navionics app (starting about middle of the thread) was strictly for my iPhone and distinct from Garmin, however I can export the route information out and I had a couple of screen shots in Google Earth where I showed the track and how accurate it was. There's an iPad version of Navionics that's a little more advanced, but it's more than I need and my iPad doesn't have 4G. So the app I showed works completely stand alone for the iPhone.

I haven't messed with the one you showed, but I've looked at a couple of others. Navionics seemed the most well rounded for my needs (all inland, but with some commercial lanes.)

 

[NYBo]

years ago, I was fishing a club bass tournament on Candlewood Lake, CT. Due to the luck of the draw, I eneded up without a partner. The fog was thick at blast off, and I'd never been on this lake before. The lake consists of a number of arms. After fishing most of the day in various arms without catching anything, I decided to head back to the launch to watch the weigh-in. Uh oh. From the middle of the lake, all the entrances to the arms looked pretty much the same to me. Fortunately, I had a simple chart of the lake and a small, hand-held compass with me. This was long before GPS, BTW. Once I remembered I had these items, I was able to sheepishly get myself back to the ramp.

 

[roffey]

The Garmin / Active Captain stuff was based for the Garmin GPS that I have, but the package was kind of expensive (for what I need).

The Navionics app (starting about middle of the thread) was strictly for my iPhone and distinct from Garmin, however I can export the route information out and I had a couple of screen shots in Google Earth where I showed the track and how accurate it was. There's an iPad version of Navionics that's a little more advanced, but it's more than I need and my iPad doesn't have 4G. So the app I showed works completely stand alone for the iPhone.

I haven't messed with the one you showed, but I've looked at a couple of others. Navionics seemed the most well rounded for my needs (all inland, but with some commercial lanes.)

I downloaded the app but my lake in Ontario Canada does not really have any detail so I needed to download the maps. $16 is nothing for the maps so its exactly what I was looking for and thanks.

 

[southkogs]

Cool!! I suggest you mess with it a bit in the daylight to see how well it works for you before you try it at night. Ask me why I suggest that

 

[roffey]

I am new to the lake so when the sun goes down I am sitting on the deck admiring my boat and consuming a rum and coke. I lead a ruff life but someone has to.

 

[roffey]

Here is a Google map of the lake, you can see how easy it would be to get turned around in a bay

https://www.google.ca/maps?q=bobs+l...=8oRbVYqQK4adygT5nIGQDg&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

 

[gm280]

I have to admit that I've never been lost on the water, but certainly in the woods. Amazing how fast adrenaline sets in, but keeping a level head is the sure way to find your way out again... :facepalm:

 

[southkogs]

Here is a Google map of the lake, you can see how easy it would be to get turned around in a bay

Impounds around here aren't quite that complicated ... but still easy to get scrambled on.

I have to admit that I've never been lost on the water, but certainly in the woods. Amazing how fast adrenaline sets in, but keeping a level head is the sure way to find your way out again... :facepalm:

One piece of technology that can make a lot of sense these days is an EPIRB. I've been lost in the woods, and that time turned out more funny than dangerous. But in many cases it's not a laughing matter.

 

[gm280]

southkogs, the time I got lost in the woods was way before GPS was even available to the general public. Heck even bag phones weren't even marketed yet either. So these days, it would pretty hard to get lost with a GPS handheld unit, or even a smart phone with such abilities...

 

[southkogs]

Sorry GM. I wasn't really commenting on what you said, just noting EPIRBs. That may have come across wrong.

There are still plenty of guys out there who can trudge through the woods with nearly no tools and make their way around even getting a little lost every once in a while. I've done it myself where I had to use the sun's position or river flow or something to figure out which way I needed to go. One doesn't really need all of the tools if you are prepared.

Conversely, it surprises me how many people get lost even these days while all of those tools are available. I do a little bit of SAR work here in TN, and we had about 21 search incidents last year.

 

[Lawnpro979]

I'm Not making fun of you, Because I did the same thing..... I had a few glasses of Wine. Ok a bottle. then it got dark. I was lost.... I found a few fishermen and got headed in the right direction. " after 3 hours" But I was VERY close to looking for a spot to sleep on the boat overnight.....I went and bought a GPS.

 

[roffey]

It is unnerving to get turned around in strange or unknown waters. I downloaded an app for my phone and it works very well. its from Navionics and will track your outing and log distance, average speed, top speed and rout.

Funny, since my outing I have taken the time to learn the lake and now know where I got in trouble. I was about 100 ft away from the main part of the lake I just did not know the passage way. It was about 10 ft wide and three feet deep and very hard to spot unless you know it is there, LOL.

 

[robert graham]

While cruising on an unfamiliar lake or river I've learned to glance back over my shoulder to take sort of a mental "photograph" of how it looks on the return trip, especially at any landmarks, turns, etc....it'll help you a lot on your return trip....once you look at something you'll recall it just enough.....

 

[SailorDon]

Good news and bad news. First the good news!

I have used Garmin LakeVu HD Ultra for the last 3 years on various lakes, bayous, rivers, etc. from Waco, TX to Josephine, Alabama.
It has been a life saver when I explore new lakes unfamiliar to me.
The Garmin GPS is also useful for storing the location of submerged tree stumps in memory and setting proximity alarms around them. There are 17,000 lakes stored in the LakeVu database with all sorts of good information like boat ramp locations, water depths and of course, the all important shoreline.

Now for the bad news. LakeVu only works for U.S. Lakes. :-(
Bobs Lake ain't gonna be on LakeVu.
Bummer!