compass question

i bring this up because of the story of the lost kayaker at T.C.
some people have said you should have a compass, and you should. but if you think a compass will show you the way home when your lost, think again. navigation starts at a known point ie  the launch, then detailed headings and distancances must be recorded for each leg, to estimate distance traveled on a kayak on the big blue with any accuracy is near impossible. a 1 deg error in your heading
 depending on distance will throw you way off .to get a accurate reading at sea is dang near impossible. if your just looking for shore. the swell will show you the way.
how are we using the compass ?
just for general direction? or are you guys hitting your launch site in deep fog ?

You're right about the compass will help point you close to a general area but it's a much more reliable device to have compare to electronic devices (no signal, mal-function, dead battery, etc...).

sorry forgot my question.
how are you using them ?

You at least know east=shore. All iphones have a compass I believe.

if your just looking for shore. the swell will show you the way.

That is just plain wrong. What about swells that go parallel to or away from shore?

A compass will not get you back to your launch directly unless you have a paper chart to plot your course. That is why in navigation, we are taught to head slightly off course for the return trip if you are not familiar with the coast line.

Assuming you know which direction you launched, the compass will point you in the general direction for your return. To actually find your launch (say due east), you should not actually paddle directly east, because if you miss your launch, you have no idea if it is to the north or south of your location. Instead paddle slightly northeast and when you see land, paddle south to find your launch. Or vise versa.

A compass is a lowtech backup of your gps; and yes, it will guide you back to land. Not necessarily you point of origin, but back to safe grounds. You will need to have previous knowledge of the coastal area to get you back to port/launch ramp.

On a side note, prior to gps, we use to be able to navigate using Heading, SOW and TOT.

I got lost in the fog at Capitola earlier this year after the battery crapped out on my FF. Even though my cheap backup pocket compass was worthless for navigation, it was a psychological victory to at least know I wasn't going to be paddling out to the open ocean. 

So... yeah, that's what I use it for. Knowing which way is EAST. I have a deck compass I'm going to install as another redundancy. Getting disoriented in fog sucks.

if your just looking for shore. the swell will show you the way.

That is just plain wrong. What about swells that go parallel to or away from shore?

A compass will not get you back to your launch directly unless you have a paper chart to plot your course. That is why in navigation, we are taught to head slightly off course for the return trip if you are not familiar with the coast line.

Assuming you know which direction you launched, the compass will point you in the general direction for your return. To actually find your launch (say due east), you should not actually paddle directly east, because if you miss your launch, you have no idea if it is to the north or south of your location. Instead paddle slightly northeast and when you see land, paddle south to find your launch. Or vise versa.

Krusty I hesitated before i put that statement in  because i dont know the swell for the whole coast, i guess my statement should have been little things can clue ypu in to find your direction of travel. on to off set aiming. i believe the desert almot took my life once.  had shot our az back to the truck, we did not offset . we missed the truck and were not sure wich way to travel when we hit the dirt road , we chose wrong.  it was hot and we were out of water. lucky for us a dirt bike came up the road and we were able to ask if he passed our truck. he had not.
if you ask me offset aim is criticaly important.

if your just looking for shore. the swell will show you the way.

That is just plain wrong. What about swells that go parallel to or away from shore?

+1

A compass is an absolutely essential safety item, IMHO.

im not debating the need for a compass.
just asking how you were using them?
trying to learn more. Thought maybe you guys had a secrete
other than thats east, wich is already what i do.

  I Gooped a small thin compass - the type with the clear plastic rectangle attached - to a flat spot that I can see easily.  It's no gps, but it's helpful to keep me headed in a sort of straight line toward an area I'd like to fish, and to orient myself again when I look up from tying knots in hazy conditions. And it gives me peace of mind knowing I've got a backup to the gps.  I try to avoid going out when there's a good chance of thick fog, and though SC isn't as exposed as some places on the coast where fog can come in fast, it still happens occasionally.
   In SC, North= shore, and that's good enough when there's not much shore break to hone in on, and once I get close to shore, I can most often see where I am.

Topic says compass question.

I didn't see a single question in the OP.

What is the question?

Knowing which way is East isn't always the answer.
There are a few places with a southern launch; SC and SC for two. 
Knowing how to get back to the launch is more important.
If you head straight out of these two harbors it's a lot closer to head back north to get back to the launch. If you go straight out of the Santa Cruz harbor one mile, it's only a mile back heading north but 7.25 miles to shore heading east. And it's a lot easier to get to civilization if you head north to the launch at Shelter Cove rather than beaching it somewhere along the cliffs if you head east.

Topic says compass question.

I didn't see a single question in the OP.

What is the question?

how are we using the compass / ill edit first post

I always carry 2 compasses, and usually carry 3.  That doesn't include the compass app on my phone.  With any compass, it is not very useful without a map or an intimate knowledge of your location.  As the discussion above indicates, simply assuming without confirming that the shoreline is east of your offshore location in California is a recipe for failure. 

Map and compass navigation skills are valuable and worth practicing.  You can do this on land or in the water, the principles being the same.  Know how to triangulate a position, how to use a control point such as a land feature, a buoy, or offshore rock. Take an orienteering class at the local junior college.

Map and compass skills are not really emphasized in this day of cheap and ubiquitous handheld GPS, but having a simple map and compass and knowing how to use them to effectively navigate between two points is a skill everyone should know, and it should be taught at a relatively early age.