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Joe Berkovitz: Online Tools for Paddling @ REI Sun 3/1/2020


Joseph Berkovitz

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In this workshop, we’ll explore (and in many cases use) a variety of websites and  smartphone/desktop apps that can help us do useful things as paddlers. Our goal is to look at how internet technology and digital devices can help us, while remaining clear-eyed about the costs, drawbacks and tradeoffs. Throughout there will be an emphasis on free or low-cost solutions.

The session will run from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm on Sunday, March 1, 2020.  This workshop will be held in the Meeting Room (rear of the store) at REI, 279 Salem St, Reading, MA.

Want to come? Sign up in the calendar entry! Attendance is limited by room capacity.

Topics covered include:

  • Websites and apps for weather, sea, surf observations and predictions
  • How to download, crop, combine, and print NOAA charts with magnetic grids
  • GPS tracking, wayfinding, analysis and logging of paddles
  • Beyond the VHF radio: communication on the water
  • Creating your own online maps and guides in Google Maps and Earth
  • Pooling our paddling knowledge in the cloud
  • Discussion of upcoming changes in NOAA chart technology
  • Organizing paddles with polls and spreadsheets in the cloud

Throughout the workshop, we’ll undertake group activities that use these tools in an authentic way to perform real-world tasks: create maps, plan trips, analyze weather, decide routes and more.

(Slides will be published after the talk, so the raw information will be available to all. But if you don’t come, you’ll miss out on the problem-solving fun!)
 

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I don't recall, does REI have either WiFi or a network wall jack, so that we can bring laptops? If they have network jacks in the wall that work, I could bring a small 5port switch and network cables for other people to also use (I work for a small IT shop, so can bring a limited amount of gear).

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There's free wifi at REI. The meeting room has a lectern and a wall-mounted monitor that you might be able to connect to (I couldn't make it work last year). There is limited access to power (floor jack in center of room, maybe a few wall outlets) so you might consider bringing a 10ft extension cord and power strip if there are going to be multiple people needing to plug in.

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What a great topic!  I would love to attend but will be out of town.  

Would it be possible to get some notes, a second session (I might offer my home) or someone to review it with me?

Karen 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks to everyone who made it to the talk - and there were quite a few people!

Here are links to the slides and the resources for the talk:

Slide deck: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15MNYkiiALa8iZz8RZb2kCS_RNYaPXTY2KuwT9BRildQ/edit?usp=sharing

Resources and links: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ez6W5xnperDTw3-239UYZXpX4aKk-EkaKpcC3oEsPWw/edit?usp=sharing

Best,

Joe

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Here's another resource for currents -- http://fishcurrents.com/index.html

It's particularly useful around harbors, rivers, and channels.  Click on the map and zoom in to an area to see the magnitude of currents.  You can to any datetime in the future which is could for planning.

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Fishcurrents.com is quite nice, it overlays NOAA's current predictions on top of a base map, showing them as arrows for any given future date. The zipcode lookup does not seem to work, but that's not a big deal.

Their FAQ points out a couple of important caveats:

- The site is based on downloaded current prediction data which does not change. However, NOAA can adjust its current forecast on the fly based on wind and weather. So they (and I) recommend still checking NOAA for the latest current forecasts.

- The downloaded data only runs through 31 December 2020. The site is clearly a one-person operation. So it's worth checking in a year to see if fishcurrents.com is still alive and functioning.

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I find fishcurrents.com useful long-term planning.  Like what Saturday or Sunday in May or June would have favorable currents both directions leaving Hull between 9:00AM-10:00AM, going out the Brewsters, and returning in mid-afternoon.

One thing I noticed when scanning through days on fish currents, and feel free to check my math on this, the diurnal tides we get around here shift about 50 minutes a day so they move a bit each day.  So if you find a day when the tides/currents are favorable, about one week later, the tides/currents are reversed and they will be unfavorable for the same trip.  But then seven days after that, they'll be favorable again.  Not exact.  They'll drift a bit, maybe an hour or so.  But, if you find a weekend that is favorable for a trip, about two-weeks after may also be favorable, within an hour or two.  And of course you have to check the charts as they are never exact.

 

-K

 

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1 hour ago, mhabich said:

The moon orbits the earth every 28 days, so every day it’s 1/28 of a day, 24/28 of an hour, or 50 minutes farther around. 

Yep, 50 minute shift a day.  Fourteen days is a shift of 11:40 which is why the tides, with two high/low tides a day, are almost the same time every fourteen days.

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