One of the most important things that all sportsmen (and women) must do before any excursion is to plan ahead. When your activities take you out onto the ocean or along the inshore waters of the United States, a vital part of the planning is likely to include a nautical chart from NOAA. NOAA provides detailed nautical charts that, as many of you know, can be purchased from a variety of sources, in a variety of formats (paper, waterproof, digital, etc.).Since I am always on the lookout for easier and less expensive ways to do things, I was determined to find a way to access NOAA nautical charts that I could print at home, and slide into a waterproof map case (or kitchen storage bag) for use while kayaking. My search brought me to a website that has integrated the NOAA charts into Google Maps. This appears to be a demonstration project put together by GeoGarage, but as long as it is online, I will be happy to use it. I simply zoom in to the area of interest and print out a screen capture.
I only use this method when planning a short-distance trip that does not require an entire nautical chart for navigation purposes. This works best for me when I need a basic understanding of water depths and the relative locations of places where the fish are hiding!
Do you have any favorite online tools that you use when planning your kayaking trips? Fee free to email me or message me via Twitter, and I'll be sure to post it on the blog.
Good paddling!
The Kayak Sportsman
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