Sea Kayaking Navigation and NOAA Chart Markups

One way to make sea kayaking navigation easier on water and less error-prone is to make notes on your chart before you set out. And if you go a step further by waterpoofing your charts with laminating plastic or transparent kitchen-shelf contact paper, reading those notes while on the water will be that much easier.

To begin, examine the shoreline contours shown on the chart. Make note of low coastal areas that lack cliffs, vast shoals or large boulder fields. These are your safe-haven landing spots, known as bailouts, should conditions turn overwhelming and you need to run for shore.

The safest shoreline contours are those that indicate beaches, cobble strands, protected coves, ledges and marsh edges. The best bailouts lie adjacent to roads in case you need to summon medical help.

Mark those spots on your chart to simplify the job of looking for a place to land to wait out bad weather, deal with equipment failure or regroup and debrief after mishaps such as all-in capsizes.

To make finding those areas easier, mark the relevant landmarks that lie near the landing spots. If your chart indicates a water tower or stand of radio antennas near a good bailout, circle the landmarks so that you know to look for them from the water.

After you make note of likely bailout areas and nearby landmarks (towers, hills, coves, lighthouses, navigational buoys, etc.), connect your A to B points with thick bold strokes: lines you draw on your waterproofed chart with a grease pencil, Sharpie Pen or colored felt-tip marker.

Your A to B points might be your put-in to your first landmark (that island, say), or your first landmark (that island) and the next place you plan to make landfall - the cove tucked away inside that bold headland, for example.

Marking up your chart this way before you set out forces you to look at not only the waters you plan to paddle but the nature of the nearby coastline. You'll also be able to note the proximity of shipping lanes and ferry routes, prominent man-made and natural landmarks, potential hazards such as offshore ledges where large waves can form, and tidal narrows where currents can either help or hinder or simply become dangerous. This is especially helpful in New England waters such as those off Nantucket Island, Martha's Vineyard, Provincetown on Cape Cod and elsewhere.

Marking up charts also serves another purpose: in addition to providing a reference you can glance at from the cockpit, marking up a chart means that you carefully read your chart before you head out.

You know where to land to camp or to take a break or summon help; you know where to portage to avoid hazards; you know where landings are likely to be dangerous if not impossible.

Marking up your chars beforehand ensures that you need only glance down at your chart from time you're on the water.

As you glance from chart to compass and back out to surrounding water and landmarks, you keep your head up for oncoming boat traffic, changes in the weather, and what is going on, safety-wise, with your sea kayaking companions.