F &Jetsam P L ACE S | SAF E T Y | E VENT S | P EOP L E | VH F lotsam PLACES BY CONOR MIHELL Geeks Play God in Virtual Sea
HOW USEFUL IS THE NEW OCEAN LAYER IN GOOGLE EARTH FOR ROUTE PLANNING? “Te underwater stuff is certainly not as
THE INTERNET’S LATEST TREAT is as much professional development as it is pro- crastination for David Johnston. A website designer and sea kayak instructor based in Toronto, Johnston spends his idle office-hour moments soaring above the planet’s coastal zones in the virtual world of Google Earth, taking note of potential paddling trips and up- loading his own experiences along the way. Johnston especially anticipated the release
of Google’s latest incarnation of its “virtual globe” this past February. Version 5.0 adds a new “explore the oceans” database to Google’s already thick sandwich of map layers—com- plete with water depth data, seafloor detail, profiles of marine protected areas and user-in- putted information on surf spots around the world, among other features. While Johnston says the upgrades are somewhat overrated, they don’t diminish the program’s usefulness for sea kayakers.
14 ADVENTURE KAYAK | EARLY SUMMER 2009
clear as it was hyped up to be,” says Johnston, “so don’t expect to find Atlantis. But it’s still a great tool for planning your next paddling trip.”
Adventure Kayak asked Johnston for the beta on how Google Earth works for sea kayakers:
A small-screen look at the big picture. “Google Earth is great when you’re at the ‘could this work?’ stage of trip planning,” says Johnston. When sketching out a trip, Johnston uses Google Earth’s ruler tool to estimate distances and weigh his options. “In an area with many potential routes, it enables you to plan a rough course before you com- mit to buying charts and planning it out in greater detail.”
Up your street smarts. “Google Earth really shines for planning urban trips,” says Johnston. Google’s high-resolution aerial photography of city streets makes it possible
to zoom in on potential after-work paddling destinations. “It’s great for finding launching, landing and parking places.”
Archive your route.“Te ability to integrate GPS waypoints into Google Earth is a really cool feature that’s underused by sea kayakers,” says Johnston. Most modern GPS units work seamlessly with Google Earth, which means you can upload data and view your route on your computer screen. Tis information then becomes available for other users. “Hikers have really picked up on this, and it makes sense for sea kayakers to take advantage of it as well.”
Te geek factor. For Johnston, three features complete the Google Earth experience: Imbedded, user-added photographs; location- specific, interpretive Wikipedia links; and detailed star charts for specific places at any time of year.
NEWS FROM THE PADDLING WORLD Google Earth lets you explore coastlines
in detail and check out surf breaks PHOTO:
GOOGLE.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48