Sea Kayak Navigation
When sea kayaking, we often need to work out how long it will take to paddle a set distance as part of our trip planning, or when we need to change our plan during the journey. Assuming that we are not affected by wind or tide we can use the following quick calculation which is easy even when underway.
These calculations are for the average sea kayaker who paddles at approximately 3 knots (3 Nm/hour). You should check your own speed before applying the following formula.
On your chart or map, measure the distance you are going to paddle. Take this measurement and multiply it by 2, then multiply this figure by 10 to give the number of minutes it will take to reach your destination.
Example 1, to paddle 3 Nm -
3 x 2 = 6, 6 x 10 = 60 minutes.
Example 2, to paddle 5.5 Nm -
5.5 x 2 = 11, 11 x 10 = 110 minutes (or 1 hour 50 minutes).
Sea kayak navigation can seem complicated at first, but there are plenty of quick tricks like this which make the mental arithmetic very easy. You can learn many of these by enrolling on a BCU sea kayak 3 or 4 star course, or by arranging a personal sea kayaking course with me.
