In New England, strong tidal currents are the norm, not the exception. It is likely, therefore, that New England paddlers will find themselves crossing a current stream at one time or another.

The most efficient way to cross a current is by ferrying: angling the bow upstream so the boat travels straight across. See the cartoon below for an illustration of ferrying across a current.

In the cartoon, the paddler wants to reach her campsite by the pine tree. However, there is a current from the right pushing her toward the left.

To compensate, the paddler angles her boat upstream. If she chooses the correct "ferry angle," she will head straight across and reach her destination.

Note that, while ferrying, the heading of the boat (the direction it travels) is not the same as the direction the boat is pointing. The difference between the desired heading and the direction the boat points is the ferry angle.

The correct ferry angle depends on the velocity of current and her paddling speed. A ferry angle of 6 degrees will offset a current equal to one-tenth of the paddling speed.

Therefore, if she is paddling at 3 knots, and the current is running at 0.6 knots (2/10 of paddling speed) from the right, she will need a ferry angle of 12 degrees to the right.

Fortunately, you often don't need to know your paddling speed or your boat speed to accurately choose a ferry angle. Instead, you can use a range to ensure that you are maintaining your course and not drifting with the current.

A range is an imaginary straight line drawn from your position through two fixed objects. If both objects are charted, then such a line is known as a line of position because if you draw a line on your chart through those two objects, your position lies on that line. Otherwise, a range can be used to see if you have moved side-to-side off of the range line.

The cartoon below depicts the use of a range while crossing current. The paddler's goal is the tall pine tree marked with an arrow. To create a range, she identifies another landmark, in this case a navigational buoy, on the line of her course. As long as she remains on this line, she will eventually reach her target.