GPS-watches

[Inverseyourself]

Does anyone have any experience with GPS watches on the water? What I want to get out of it is option to read accurate lat-lon off my wrist, track my course and view it on a map once synced with the appropriate program or app on my desk-top or IPhone or iPad and stats like current speed, average speed, max speed and time spent paddling as well as barometric pressure monitoring/rapid-drop warnings apart from basics like time and stop watch function for longer crossings, etc.

I've been looking at the Garmin Fenix3 and Fenix5 but most reviews are by runners and triathletes, who have quite different needs that I don't care about (HR, VO2max, step cadence, etc.). These watches don't get good grades when it comes to GPS accuracy but I don't know how reliable that is since you find plenty enough reasonable reviews of this particular feature of above 2 watches.

Anyone have any of these watches or similar? Am I better off with a regular GPS? I do like the accessibility of the info on a wrist watch.

Any GPS-experts please chime in (Dan....).

 

Andy

[jason]

If you order a Garmin look at the extended warrantee (If you order one via Amazon they will sell you an extended warrantee, I am sure that others will too).   My vívoactive® HR lasted one year and one week before it died.  

As for GPS accuracy, they will be accurate to within yards,   the question is how much time do they sleep between fixes (in attempt to save battery).    

If I was to order another Garmin (depending on the Apple watch 3, in about a month)  I would order a higher end one with a sapphire lens,  as the plastic one scratches up fairly easily.  

I am going to look at the Apple watch 3 (they have an option one the Apple watch 2 for ones with sapphire face) and then see what Gamin has at the time.   I very much like the idea of the Apple watch, but not that it needs to be charged every night.   The Garmin has a good life on it.   Fitbit is interesting, but they don't have a waterproof one with a screen and built in GPS.

-Jason

[EEL]

To add to Jason's comment, I have used the simple Garmin watch style GPS units such as the 301 and 401.  I find them handy for monitoring speed, time and distance which suffices for the dead reckoning I need to do from time to time.  They would not suffice, I assume, for the type of detailed application you have in mind.  The big point is these units need to be carefully sealed or they will soon fail if routinely used on the deck of a kayak.  They were not designed for such use, which violates the warranty I have read, regardless of all the claims of being waterproof and complying with JIS standards.  When asked, I believe Garmin will say, "Don't do that, it will ruin the unit."  By carefully applying electrical tape I have managed to get several years of service from these units which live on the deck.  Without doing so, they survive may survive a week or two at best.  Any port, such as a USB port, and battery compartment are points of failure which will need attention.

 

Ed Lawson

[Dan Foster]

For "basic stats and tracking" on the water, with analysis done later in ExpertGPS on my computer, I wear and recommend a Garmin Forerunner 235. For any situation where navigation might be an issue (foggy camping in Maine), I keep a Garmin Oregon 550 in my PFD, which I've prepared ahead of time with a NOAA nautical chart as a custom map, and with waypoints marked at my likely destinations. If it's really foggy and I'm going to be using it a lot, it goes in my chart case to keep the salt off. Otherwise, everything gets a rinse in fresh water as soon as we hit dry land, and I try to avoid pressing buttons and working salt into them unless I need to.

I don't worry about GPS accuracy on the ocean. You've got an unobstructed view of the sky - much better than in the forest. And I can't think of any scenario where even a 100' positioning error would alter your course of action.

If you really like the watch convenience and form factor, Garmin has an app store for their watches, so you might look there to see if there are apps you can run on a cheaper model to give you the marine-specific info you want. The main thing I miss on the stock Forerunner 235 is a way to display your current latitude and longitude or UTM position so you can confirm your location on the chart.

[leong]

It seems that only 5% of people I talk to about GPSs realize the beauty of a GPS is the GOTO. That is, with a GPS, a GOTO a Waypoint can keep you on the proper heading so that your “Course-Over-Ground” is a straight line to the waypoint, regardless of crossing currents or crossing winds. Even if the wind and/or current are variable the GPS can continually provide adjustments to keep you on the right heading angle. So if you’re using your GPS to go to a particular Waypoint, computations of ferry angles or the uses of ranges becomes unnecessary. This is especially useful when you’re paddling in a fog (or in the dark) where ranges aren’t available. Of course, GPSs can fail and one should always be able to use a chart and ranges and a Compass and be able to calculate ferry angles based on estimates of current/wind direction and speed.

That said, if the GPS watch doesn’t have a GOTO function then I’d buy a small handheld instead. If it does, the other comments are all reasonable to me.

Just my two cents.

-Leon

 

[Inverseyourself]

 

On 9/10/2017 at 11:39 PM, leong said:

That said, if the GPS watch doesn’t have a GOTO function

I guess that would be the Sight'n go function that Garmin watches offer. You point the watch in the direction you want to go (compass on watch face shows you degrees) and push a button. I believe that this establishes a direct line between your current position and the point you want to get to. You then have an arrow that points in the direction you need to go to stay on above line. If you deviate to the right, the arrow will point left and vice versa. It's what's known as cross track error, XTE. This is of course different from navigating to a waypoint without having your current position to establish a line between start and end, since former will not account for current and wind. If I misinterpret the Sight'n Go function, someone please let me know.

Jason: You mentioned the new Apple Watch. Any opinion now that it's (almost) out?

[leong]

5 hours ago, Inverseyourself said:

 

I guess that would be the Sight'n go function that Garmin watches offer. You point the watch in the direction you want to go (compass on watch face shows you degrees) and push a button. I believe that this establishes a direct line between your current position and the point you want to get to. You then have an arrow that points in the direction you need to go to stay on above line. If you deviate to the right, the arrow will point left and vice versa. It's what's known as cross track error, XTE. This is of course different from navigating to a waypoint without having your current position to establish a line between start and end, since former will not account for current and wind. If I misinterpret the Sight'n Go function, someone please let me know.

Jason: You mentioned the new Apple Watch. Any opinion now that it's (almost) out?

Andy,

Some GPSs have compasses. When the compass is on I think that GPS always tries to point your heading vector to the waypoint. It would be like if you could visually see a tree and always paddled towards the tree your course over ground would be a curved path (a pursuit curve) if you drifted sideways. But, I guess that since the watch GPS doesn't know where on the direction line you want to go to it might just be acting like a compass. Perhaps I'm confused. But I don't think the watch GPS will attempt to keep you on the initial straight line to the target.

Here's a long post about the pursuit curve and the use of GPS to keep you on the shortest distance path to the waypoint.

PS

I'll invite Lisa to join this discussion. She has more practical experience with a GPS than anyone I know. In my case, the following quote applies to me (a guy who knows the math of the topic but has limited practical experience).

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by leong

[lhunt]

I only have experience with the older Garmin hiking-type GPS units, like the venerable GPSMap 76csx.  I keep the compass disabled for the reason Leon gave.

If the watch with the "sight 'n go" feature doesn't have a magnetic compass (screens can be very compass-like even if the device doesn't have a compass), it would have to have an algorithm to decide the initial direction based on movement - either how you were moving just before you called up the feature, or maybe you have to move forward  while you point the watch.  The latter would be pretty hard for a kayaker.  As Leon says, if it has a compass and uses it all the time, it's a 'con'. - maybe it can be disabled for navigation.  Also, if it's using an accelerometer for things like how you are pointing the watch, it would be worth researching how that will be affected in general by the paddling motion.

Back to the original post, I looked into getting a watch to use with a smart phone at one point.  I think you're looking for a watch/phone combination - the watch does the measuring and the map is displayed on the phone, right?

The process of capturing a track is pretty straightforward.  My question would be, would the watch require a phone to capture that data.  Because I've tried taking a phone with me kayaking several times, with 2 different phones, and it never works.  The "waterproof" phones are only IP68 or so, not good enough.  If you put it in a dry case, it will overheat quickly.  Even if it doesn't shut off or malfunction, heat will shorten the battery life.  You might be able to rig something up by packing your phone with your water reservoir, or something like that.  So if the watch requires a phone to capture data, you might be able to do it with your phone packed away somewhere cool.  But having the phone out on the deck where you can see it would be more difficult, because of the solar gain inside the dry case.  If the watch can capture the data all by itself, that would be better.

I use my old-fashioned GPS on my deck in a dry case.  My first Garmin (a different GPSMap) lasted several years (8?), barring once when I had to replace it after the dog chewed it up :-(  It runs on rechargeable NiMH batteries and has a low resolution display which is easy to see in most light conditions.  It shows all sorts of speed/distance etc. data, and captures the track which I can easily plot on Google Maps on my computer at home.  Although Garmin has abandoned the nice old-fashioned software I use to get the track (sigh), I'm sure the new stuff works, too, if you don't mind being on the cloud.

And one more observation to this pretty rambling post:  I have a Garmin Forerunner 305 (clunky old watch).  It captures the GPS data nicely itself, and is properly waterproof, so that would do the minimum that you have requested above.  But although it has the feature,  I think doing goto's or any kind of navigation with that little screen and with the watch on the wrist would be awkward while paddling. 

-Lisa

[Phil Allen]

11 hours ago, lhunt said:

.....  Because I've tried taking a phone with me kayaking several times, with 2 different phones, and it never works.  The "waterproof" phones are only IP68 or so, not good enough.  If you put it in a dry case, it will overheat quickly.  Even if it doesn't shut off or malfunction, heat will shorten the battery life.....

I'm not sure which phone you've been using, but I keep my iPhone in a lifeproof case and its never had an issue with overheating, even with charging.

best

Phil

 

[leong]

Andy,

As you explained it, the Sight'n go function can't function as a true Goto unless you enter the distance to the waypoint. If not, it can't provide a true Goto function.

A standard GPS Goto function continuously draws an imaginary line from your latest position to the stored waypoint. Say you stray from the original Goto-line and drift off a significant distance. What sense would if make to go back to the original line? I’m almost sure that the watch GPS doesn’t have software to remember the old line, anyway. The Sight'n go function seems like just a fancy compass to me. Of course, if you don’t drift sideways it doesn’t make any difference.

In a standard GPS there’s a continuously changing line from your latest position to the waypoint. That latest line is the shortest great-circle “line” to the waypoint. The original old line is useless from your new position.

Bottom line: I was just pointing out the luxury that a standard GPS’s Goto function eliminates the need for estimating ferry angles. If you don’t care then my point is irrelevant.

-Leon

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by leong

[Dan Foster]

It makes sense to go back to the original line (or really, to tell you how much you've strayed left or right of your original line) if you're in a narrow, foggy channel. That's the use for the Cross Track Error (XTE) feature in early GPS receivers, which were marketed to boaters. If you're heading down a 100' wide channel, and your XTE is 60' left, there's a good chance that following the GOTO is going to put you into a rock, because you're now 10 feet out of the channel.

[Inverseyourself]

Sorry Leon, I completely omitted that you have to, as a second step after determining the bearing, enter a distance for the Sight'n Go function.

But I also simply assumed, perhaps falsely, that the SightnGo recognizes your current position and just creates a straight line along the bearing you determined to want to go towards to reach your point B.

Shouldn't that work or am I caught in the wrong thought process? You need your current position and a bearing to your point B, where exactly B is along the straight line from you to/before/beyond B is irrelevant, at least in some cases. Your point B will be on that line and you'll recognize it if you know what you're looking for. If you need to reach a point B very accurately, e.g. in dense fog or a moonless night, when you have to be on top of point B to recognize it or simply don't know what point B looks like, then you need an accurate distance.

 I guess that putting in any distance that's greater than the estimated distance to the point you want to reach is ok, especially if visibility is good and you don't know the distance or are too lazy to calculate it on your chart.

I think "remembering" the old line is the very purpose of XTE-function. You create a waypoint from your current position and there's only one straight line to that waypoint from that current position. It gives you the course over ground you need to be on to reach point B. If you have current or wind you adjust your heading to account for it so that you stay on the old line. It allows you to reach point B on a straight COG rather than chasing B in a curve. You could of course perform a new SightnGo action once you have strayed off the original COG-line substantially but that'll still make you chase B in a curve somewhat.

Maybe I'm just in silly-mode and not getting it or am overthinking things ad nauseam.

[lhunt]

I would guess that probably if you put in a distance N than your bearing/distance combination creates a simple "waypoint" at N distance along the bearing line, then forgets the original line and remembers the "waypoint".  I believe probably the GPS will then always give you the heading from where you currently are to the "waypoint". 

I believe this, admittedly, because it's the closest to the way my GPS works.  If my GPS has an XTE function I am not aware of it.  This has been perfectly OK with me over the years, because it is so rare for me to be following a channel straight enough to be worth putting in a "goto" request.  I have used my GPS for channels, but I do it by drawing lines (curved ones, usually) on the satellite map using my computer before the paddle.  Then I just stay on the line.

Anyway, if I'm right, then putting in a distance too great for what you want to do would give you a very slightly different heading if you wander off the line than you want.  Just like putting in a waypoint that is too far inland.  As you say, it probably wouldn't matter much unless visibility was low.  If you put the distance in too short, your device would start pointing back after you passed the theoretical "waypoint".  I suppose you could keep going, just keeping the arrow pointing exactly backward.

If I'm wrong, the alternative is, as others have said, that the GPS remembers the original line and XTE and always directs you back onto the line.  Then I would wonder what the algorithm is for getting back to the line - if you drift to the right how steeply would it direct you left to get you back on the line.  Staying on the original line would get you accurately there even if your distance was off (in fact the distance would be useful only for telling you about how far you have to go).  But unless you are paying pretty strict attention all the time, it wouldn't be as efficient.

On a slightly different note, if this feature is important to you, it would be very interesting to know if the watch has a magnetic compass, and whether it uses it all the time.  That would significantly change the way it works in a crosswind or cross current.

Lisa

[leong]

2 hours ago, Dan Foster said:

It makes sense to go back to the original line (or really, to tell you how much you've strayed left or right of your original line) if you're in a narrow, foggy channel. That's the use for the Cross Track Error (XTE) feature in early GPS receivers, which were marketed to boaters. If you're heading down a 100' wide channel, and your XTE is 60' left, there's a good chance that following the GOTO is going to put you into a rock, because you're now 10 feet out of the channel.

Yes, indeed.

[leong]

1 hour ago, Inverseyourself said:

  If you have current or wind you adjust your heading to account for it so that you stay on the old line. It allows you to reach point B on a straight COG rather than chasing B in a curve. You could of course perform a new SightnGo action once you have strayed off the original COG-line substantially but that'll still make you chase B in a curve somewhat.

 

With a true Goto function you don't have to perform a new Goto when you stray off the original line. That's because the line is always a straight line from your current position to the waypoint. The GPS will always try to keep you on the current line whether it's the original line or a newly computed line. It knows the location of your variable position and the fixed waypoint. So if you're to the right of the current line just turn a little left until you're back on the line. Remember, the GPS knows your current velocity vector (speed and direction of motion). It has no idea which direction your bow is pointed at. You're just a point on a map to the GPS, including two velocity components (say, east rate and north rate)  

On my el-cheapo GPS there is an arrow. My job is to adjust my heading accordingly to keep the arrow pointing to the top of the screen.

 

 

[Inverseyourself]

"With a true Goto function you don't have to perform a new Goto when you stray off the original line. That's because the line is always a straight line from your current position to the waypoint. The GPS will always try to keep you on the current line whether it's the original line or a newly computed line. It knows the location of your variable position and the fixed waypoint. So if you're to the right of the current line just turn a little left until you're back on the line."

 

Leon: When you say: " That's because the line is always a straight line from your current position to the waypoint", how can you be of the right of the current line when the current line constantly changes with your changed position if in current? What you state in above paragraph are 2 different things. The first would make you chase the target in current in a curved fashion because when you always have a straight line to the target from your current position and the current position moves constantly in current, that happens.

The second is XTE. 

 

 

[leong]

Andy,

I'm not sure I understand your contradiction. But, perhaps, the following will straighten it out:

Think of it this way. You're a point on the water moving along due to variable paddling, wind, current, waves and whatever. The GPS has the coordinates of your point (say, east and north) and your velocity vector (say, east_rate and north_rate). The GPS knows when your velocity vector is not pointing to the waypoint. With an arrow (or something) it tells you to turn and stop turning when your velocity vector is pointing towards the waypoint.

Note: if the velocity is (east = 3 knots, north = 4 knots) you're moving in the northeast direction at 5 knots.

 

 

[lhunt]

I think I got a bit turned around in the syntax in both posts (why does "current" have to be the same word as "current"?)

But the goto function is one of those things that is oh-so-simple, but hard to understand if you are used to using a compass.  To avoid syntax problems, I'll talk about a crosswind.  Also, I'm talking about a GPS that has no compass.  Very important!

A GPS can give you a HEADING, not a BEARING.  You need a compass to get a bearing.  So the GPS says something like "go left", "go left some more", "good, stay like that".  Yes, it uses a pointer-like thingy to communicate this, and yes, the screen might look like a compass.  But this is based on how you are moving.  The GPS has no idea what direction you are pointing in.  If you have a crosswind pushing you to the right, the GPS is going to notice you are moving too far to the right.  So it will tell you to move left some.  Once you change your heading so that the GPS is satisfied you are moving in the right direction, your heading will be to the left of your track (and of the actual goal on the ground).  This is the right ferry angle, simply because it has adjusted your movement to be in the right direction.

One side effect of this is that if you are on course, and take your GPS and turn it on its side it will still point to the top of the screen, even though the top of the screen is now pointing off to the left.  Because there is no compass, and the GPS does not know it isn't pointing forward.  Another curiosity - you might notice that the map shown on the GPS in your car (unless it has a compass) swivels around 180 degrees when you are backing up.  Because it doesn't know how you are pointing, but it does know how you are moving.

I think there's maybe a word wrong in the statement "The GPS will always try to keep you on the current line whether it's the original line or a newly computed line."  Probably Leon meant "keep you on the correct line" or something like that.

[Inverseyourself]

Leon, I get that. I probably got confused ?.

Lisa: Heading, not bearing, of course. Here's where I may have become confused, like you suggested: The Garmin 78sc's SightnGo function uses a compass. You aim that compass at B (and doing that gives you a bearing from where you are to that point) and then put in a distance (you're probably right that you can't put in a much higher distance than the actual one, although that may depend, as you questioned earlier, how fast XTE wants to get you back "on line". If the distance is high, possibly slower). It then goes to GPS function, no longer using the compass but showing you the same or similar arrow that you used moments ago on the compass, to guide you to B.

I'm just going to have to play around with that thing (Garmin 78sc, decided against the watch, more expensive by factor 2.5) on the water before I understand it really...something you 2 have obviously achieved long ago.

[leong]

2 hours ago, leong said:

Note: if the velocity is (east = 3 knots, north = 4 knots) you're moving in the northeast direction at 5 knots.

1 hour ago, lhunt said:

 "The GPS will always try to keep you on the current line whether it's the original line or a newly computed line."  Probably Leon meant "keep you on the correct line" or something like that.

Ha ha, yes. I probably meant the correct current line. My head hurts!

PS

Note should be: if the velocity is (east = 3 knots, north = 4 knots) you're moving at 36.9 degrees at 5 knots.

Note above should have be: if the velocity is (east = 3 knots, north = 4 knots) you're moving at 36.9 degrees east of north at 5 knots.

[lhunt]

Yes, I think that will probably be my follow on when the 76csx finally dies :-(  I like the AA batteries and the fact that it doesn't have a touch screen which would be an issue with wet fingers. 

If you don't already have them, you might want to get some NiMh batteries and a good charger (one that does individual batteries, not sets).  Because it goes through a lot of AA batteries otherwise.  And alkaline batteries perform poorly at low temperatures - the device tells you the battery is dead but when you bring it back in the warm house it's OK.  That's because the current moves too slowly from battery to device in low temperatures (under 40 deg. or so, maybe 45).  But the NiMh batteries work just fine, and last a long time.

Hope you enjoy it!

Lisa

[rpg51]

     I have used handheld Garmin GPS units for years and years mostly on canoe trips in the Canadian Arctic and in northern Maine as well.  But, last year I sold my Garmin in favor of the apple iPhone in a waterproof case teathered to my pfd and in a pfd pocket. I was surprised to learn that the newer iPhones and non-cell enabled iPads have a very good gps chip which, with power management practices, will provide excellent gps accuracy and very long battery life.  On a long multi week trip you can carry a small recharge battery and easily make the iphone last the entire trip. There are apps galore available to do pretty much anything you like. I use the popular navigation app Gaia for common gps style map navigation.  I see no need for a Garmin gps now, watch or otherwise.  In fact, in my opinion, the iPhone is superior. Certainly, it is far more versatile in that it provides a host of other functions as well.  Just get a really good waterproof case and test it.

     The other device that is worth considering is the "inReach" device, now owned and marketed by Garmin.  I own an inReach and I like it a lot.  It is not very expensive.  Is is small and easy to carry.  The service plans allow you to suspend during the off season.  The gps function is as accurate as any.  The gps is rudimentary and clunky to operate, not unlike a gps watch, but it works well I it may well do all that you want to do PLUS give you the ability to send messages, emergency and otherwise, when you are outside cell range.  It works like a sat phone only no voice function, just text and e mail. I noticed last year that bush pilots in the Yukon are using it.  I suppose along the coast you generally have cell service and maybe VHF is sufficient, so perhaps the satellite messaging is not that important.  But, if you are going to an area with no cell service, where a VHF call might not find a response, the inReach is a nice fairly inexpensive way to communicate. I favor it over the Spot because it works in the high arctic, and unless things have changed in the last couple of years, I don't believe the Spot service is reliable up there.  Also worth noting, the inReach device will pair with your iPhone via blue tooth to increase its utility in the messaging department.  I do not use this feature because it uses battery power.  But, others may like it.

Edited September 16, 2017 by rpg51

[lhunt]

Hi, Rob, I get it!  But I like to have my GPS on deck for speed and distance and gotos.  And my phone won't cut it on a hot day.  Even if it does work, it's very bad for a lithium battery to push the thermal limits.

Andy, I'm glad you gave me the push - I just got a 78sc as a backup to my older device (or vice versa).  I checked out the Sight 'n  Go function - the place where you put in the distance is prompted as "Projected Waypoint", so it's definitely just setting a virtual waypoint at n distance along the requested bearing.  (No XTE that I can see, although there is a data point you can get called "off course" that I never used before. ) Works OK.  I can't find a place where you specifically tell it to turn off the compass when you are going over n miles/hour, as my old device had :-(.  It seems to be preset at about 1 or 2 mph - the goto pointer does swivel around when I walk slowly, but not when I speed up.  You can disable the compass completely, but that disables Sight 'n Go, too.  So it will work OK unless you are fighting a very bad headwind or something like that.

It's true that the Sight 'n Go uses the compass screen to guide you.  But you can page over to the map screen and get the same pointer, this time superimposed on the chart.  I like that view better, because it has more information.  For example, if there is an intervening headland, it will show on the map screen, and I can keep that at the top of the screen, rather than following the pointer.  Then when I get around the headland, I can follow the pointer.

The other thing you can do, of course, is set a waypoint on the chart.  You just move the cursor over the place you want to go to, and press enter.  At least that's how it works on my older device, and this one is very similar, so I'm pretty sure you can do that.  And you can always set a waypoint where you are (such as at the putin) so you can find your way back.  There is a function called Man Overboard where you just hold down a key and then press enter and it will continually navigate back to that point.  Think of a sailboat having to turn around for a lost person, and you get what I mean, but it would work for a putin, too.

And of course you can always set waypoints on a map on your computer, then download them to the device.  That's what I usually use.

Anyway, hope you get a chance to play with it!

Lisa

[Inverseyourself]

1 hour ago, lhunt said:

And of course you can always set waypoints on a map on your computer, then download them to the device.  That's what I usually use.

Hi Lisa. Glad you have the 78sc, too. Now I can feed off of your device-knowledge :-). Regarding above, what OS do you use, what program and how do you do download your route from the computer to the device?

[lhunt]

I use MapSource (on Windows), because it came with my first device.  It's very old fashioned, and has been replaced with BaseCamp, but I like the simplicity of MapSource.  Also, MapSource allows me to get an Excel table of each 15-second segment of the trip, which is useful for figuring average speed up and downstream when doing river workouts.  But I think most people would be happy with BaseCamp.  If you want to try MapSource, you'll see in this little "tutorial" you need to download BaseCamp first - apparently there is a driver in BaseCamp that you need for MapSource.

I haven't actually used routes - couldn't get them to work on my old device.  I do have a big set of individual waypoints for the places around the North Shore that I frequently go.  I get them to the device by connecting via USB, then using the "transfer" function from MapSource.  You can download a map the same way.  To upload a track from the device to the computer, it's the same thing in reverse. (Note that you can put a waypoint directly onto the chart in the device, too).

Once a track is in MapSource, if I want to share it, I first filter it down to 100 points or less and save that as a .gdb file (MapSource's native file type).  Then I open it with Google Earth, and right click on the track and "save place as" to get a .kml file.  That can then be loaded into Google Maps "MyMaps".  I have a track for every salt water paddle I've ever been on. If you put multiple tracks on one map you can end up with something like this. (not every paddle by a long shot, because there are space limits)  I'm sure BaseCamp has an easier way for that - I've been meaning to try it but haven't had a chance.

Sometimes I want to draw a planning track on Google Earth and download it to the device.  There are many converters on the web which will convert from .kml to .gpx (an open standard for track files).  You can open the .gpx file with MapSource (or probably BaseCamp too, though I haven't tried), and transfer from there down to the device.  I've done this for salt marshes, for example.

Have fun playing around with it.  If you have questions, I'll answer them if I can :-)

Lisa