Printed Sea Kayak Reference Materials
- Burch, David; FUNDAMENTALS OF KAYAK NAVIGATION; Globe Pequot; 1999
- Cunningham, Christopher, Ed.; SEA KAYAKER DEEP TROUBLE; Ragged Mountain Press; 1997 and now: SEA KAYAKER’S MORE DEEP TROUBLE; International Marine/McGraw Hill Education LLC; 2014
- Gonzales, Laurence; DEEP SURVIVAL; Norton; 2003
- Matthews, Alex; SEA KAYAKAING ROUGH WATERS; The Heliconia Press; 2006
- Robison, John; SEA KAYAKING ILLUSTRATED; Ragged Mountain Press; 2003
- Pardy, M.; Marleau, J.F. et al; Navigation, Sea State & Weather, a Paddler’s Manual; SKILS; 2010
- Schumann, Roger & Shriner, Jan; SEA KAYAK RESCUE; Globe Pequot; 2001
- Canadian Hydrographic Service; CURRENT ATLAS, JUAN DE FUCA STRAIT TO STRAIT OF GEORGIA; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; 2003
- Burrows Bay Associates LLC; WAGGONER TABLES (formerly Washburne’s Tables); published annually (needed to use the CURRENT ATLAS, above)
- CAPT’N JACKS TIDE & CURRENT ATLAS; available for various regions; published annually.
- ROUGH WATER PADDLING: LOOSE HIPS PREVENT FLIPS
- ORCA SIGHTINGS
- A KAYAKER’S BODY ENGLISH – excellent article on body mechanics while paddling
Due to the expansion of on-line media, two excellent magazines have gone extinct. Sea Kayaker Magazine and Coast and Kayak were good references and sorely missed. It is possible, however, to occasionally find copies in used bookstores.
A note about guide books: there are too many to list here, and it’s probably safe to say that they exist for practically every body of water frequented by sea kayakers. However, there IS a serious lack of paddling guides for Baja, Mexico! The ONE that Ted has found (and is excelente!) is:
Eckardt, Dave; THE GUIDE TO BAJA SEA KAYAKING, THE SEA OF CORTEZ AND MAGDALENA BAY; Dave Eckardt and Paddle Publishing, 2008.
Doing some on-line research on specific destinations will reveal them. However, the world changes, making specific details (e.g. camping locations and businesses) inaccurate. This is particularly important when planning trips in British Columbia, as recent decisions affecting First Nations tribal land uses are significant. When in doubt, getting the most recently published guide is a good idea. There also are blogs written by paddlers that can be quite useful.
Charts: paddlers should become adept in reading navigational charts. Although published to meet the needs of large, motorized vessels, charts contain valuable information useful to sea kayakers. General information will be found in some of the publications listed above. Local area charts frequently can be found at marine supply stores or ordered on line.