What do you do without phone signal on open water? Compass and GPS bearing, landmarks, and how to regularly check your position.
The uncompromising answer: anyone navigating on open water never relies on a single method. Compass, GPS and landmarks aren't alternatives to each other, they're a backup system — just as reading a compass is a core skill for kayakers and canoeists on sea, river and lake alike.
The reason is simple: a GPS device can lose battery, a phone can fall into saltwater, a signal can drop in a bay. A compass always works — as long as you know how to read it. Modern GPS bearing complements the classic compass bearing, but doesn't replace it.
Why this matters especially for SUP touring, you already learned in the safety guide in this series: in a Force 4 wind you drift roughly 1.6 kilometers in 30 minutes — without reliable orientation you often only notice once the coastline already looks unfamiliar. Navigation isn't a nice-to-have for long tours, it's a core skill.
Practice on land how to take a bearing to a visible target and align the compass accordingly. This skill is identical for kayak, canoe and SUP — and works regardless of battery or signal.
A modern GPS bearing shows direction and distance to a saved point — useful for precision, but no substitute for a compass once the battery dies. Use both systems in parallel, not one instead of the other.
Before the tour, define distinctive landmarks along your route — a headland, a tower, a bay. In poor visibility or fog, known landmarks are often faster to reach than any app.
Use wind and weather apps for route planning, not just raw forecasts — they show where wind and current will affect your planned line. Combine that with your tide knowledge from the planning guide in this series.
Take a new bearing every 20–30 minutes, rather than setting direction once at the start and paddling blindly after that. Wind and current shift your actual course without you noticing it by feel.
Losing your bearings on open water isn't a cosmetic problem — combined with wind and current it can drift you far from your planned route, often before you notice. The brake position and safety rules from the relevant guide in this series apply here too.
Always carry redundant navigation gear — one system can fail, two failing at once is far less likely. And: in fog or sharply dropping visibility, the same rule as for thunderstorms applies — head for the nearest safe shore, don't insist on the original destination.
Train compass and GPS bearing first on a familiar route you could find safely without instruments. That way you learn reference values and error sources before you have to rely on them in real fog or open sea.
A practical trick: note the rough compass bearing of your main route on a waterproof card or on the board itself before every tour — then you have it within reach even if your phone and app fail.
Yes. A phone can lose battery, fall into water, or lose signal — a compass always works once you know how to read it. Both systems together are far more reliable than either alone.
Compass bearing uses Earth's magnetic field and a visible landmark, GPS bearing calculates direction and distance to a saved digital point. They complement each other but don't replace one another.
Every 20 to 30 minutes, not just once at the start. Wind and current continuously shift your actual course, and in a Force 4 wind you can drift 1.6 kilometers in 30 minutes without noticing.
Head immediately for the nearest safe shore instead of insisting on your original destination. Use your compass and known landmarks to hold orientation even as visibility drops to a few meters.
SUP Touring: Getting Started and Overview