3.7 Be able to synthesize information to formulate options and a plan for the day

It’s fairly easy to learn to understand a weather forecast, predict tides and get information from a guidebook. The real challenge lies in synthesizing this information to create a good plan for a day’s paddling - especially when conditions aren’t straightforward.

The ability to make good plans comes with time and experience. However, the following process might provide a guide for beginners:

1. Check wind strength and wave size. Is the wind light enough (e.g. F1) that we can ignore it? Is it strong enough (e.g. F4 or more) that we need to hide from it behind land? If not, it’s probably still sensible to plan a paddle that starts upwind, so that the wind is behind us at the end of the day.

2. Assuming we need to consider wind, use an overview map of the area to identify coastlines that we might be able to paddle on and access points that allow us to start upwind. This should give us a short-list of options

3. Are there any tidal effects (height of tide, tidal streams) to worry about for the areas in our short list. Does this limit options due to (e.g.) wind-against-tide effects, having to paddle against tidal stream or access constraints due to areas drying out?

4. Are there any other limits to our options or hazards to consider - e.g. other water users, danger areas, logistics, lack of escape routes?

5. We should now have a list of options that are safe and practical, and need to discuss which we’d prefer to do.