Equipment

On my Spain to Cyprus trip I had following with me:

Above my deck
  • Winged paddle
  • Homemade Greenland storm paddle
  • Waterproof chart
  • Deck compass
  • Neoprene spray skirt
  • Life Jacket with attached gear
    • Knife
    • Light
    • Camera
  • A strap that I added to my decklines just behind the cockpit holdsDeck light magnet
  • 3 liter water bag + carabiner
  • 2 nalgenes for energy + carabiner
Paddle clothing warm
  • Hat
  • Long sleeve shirt - in hatch
  • Shorts - turn into pants for land
Paddle clothing cold - currently in hatch
  • Dry top
  • Farmer John wetsuit
  • Pogies
  • Neoprene cap
  • Booties
Cockpit - everything is tied in with string and carabiners
  • Bail bucket
  • Bilge pump
  • Sponge
  • Dry bag
    • ~50 feet of rope
    • Pulley
    • Emergency distress beacon
    • VHF marine radio
      • Ideally this would be on my life jacket, but the model I have is not as waterproof as the manufacturer claims.
    • Headlamp
    • Deck light
    • Hand compass for sighting and making bearings
Hatches - mostly in dry bags
  • Food
    • Cooking
      • Gas
        • In some countries it's hard to find cartridges. An alcohol system might have been a better alternative.

      • Stove
      • Lighters
      • Pot
    • Chia seeds
    • Nutritional Bars
    • whole grain pasta or rice
    • dried lentils or peas
    • nuts
    • dried fruit
  • Electrical gear

    • Battery charger + rechargeable batteries for GPS and lights
    • Smartphone
    • Keyboard for smartphone
    • backup GPS that will be in cockpit dry bag for long crossings
    • Too many charging wires
  • First Aid
      • Put together your own bag.  Don’t waste space on silly things like band-aids for booboos.  Make sure you can use everything you have and that everything you have will help with something that’s truly dangerous or will slow you down.
      • Looking at what I have here, I could definitely use more drugs and I seem to have lost my scalpel.
    • Tweezers
    • Alcohol
    • 2 IV sets
      • Alcohol pads
      • Gauze pads
      • Medical tape
      • Two bags of 500 ml 0.9% saline solution
      • Syringes
      • Gauze rolls
      • IV tourniquet
    • Gloves with talc to keep them elastic
    • Pen for writing on people
    • Thermometer
    • Elastic cohesive bandage/tourniquet
    • Abdominal bandage
    • Burn Gel
    • Hydrocortisone
    • Tourniquet, silicon
    • 2 first aid field bandages, camouflaged
    • Sterile gloves
    • Rescue blanket
  • Toiletries
      • Dr Bronner’s
      • Sawed off toothbrush and paste
      • Toilet paper
      • Nail clippers
  • Sleeping stuff
    • Sleeping bag
    • Roll up foam mattress
      • Weighs less than inflatable and won’t leak
    • Bivy sack
      • A lot of condensation builds up
      • More subtle than a tent for sleeping on private property
      • Lightweight and small
      • Mine is old and I’m worried it leaks, but it might just be condensation.
  • Land clothing
      • Everything that’s in warm paddle clothing
      • There are no redundancies, I only have one shirt, one pair of underwear, etc...
    • Fleece
    • Rain shell
    • Rain pants
    • Long underwear
    • Underwear
  • Assorted repair gear

      • Salt will destroy anything that’s not marine grade
      • If I were away from civilization for an extended period this list, as well as others, would be more substantial.
    • String
    • Bungees
    • Carabiners
    • 5 x 5 inch pack towel
    • Half of a paddle assembly glue stick
    • Swiss army knife (don’t let it get seawater wet)
    • 2 pens (backup computer)
    • Zip ties
    • Duck tape, removed from roll
    • Sand paper
    • Epoxy syringe
    • Fiber glass
    • Tape for edges
  • 10 liter water bag
  • 2 paddle floats so that I can sleep on a long crossing if necessary.
  • Charts
  • Day pack for land adventures
  • Duffle bag that gets really small when bunched up for moving gear to and from campsite

If you have any questions about what I have with me, are interested in reviews of my gear or gear decisions, or would like recommendations for your own trip, feel free to contact me.

2013-10-31 10.42.02

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