Damsel in Thisdress

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Improvised Kayak Shelter

I'm itching to pull off another circumnavigation of Lantau stunt, but want to be suicidal and do it all in one day.  It's the catholic education in me, I swear...

Only thing is, there is a very small chance that I will not make it back to DB in time.  True, I wouldn't really need to cross channels.  But my body might protest loud enough that I have to get some rest before I go on.  And if it's rough in Fun Lau area, I'm certainly not going to paddle alongside the hydrofoils in the dark.  

Which means I need to be a good boy-scout and be prepared.  For the life of me I can't seem to find my old camping gears (bivy, tent, exposure bag, etc)  So I'll just have to improvise... 

0230am and I still can't sleep, I have this kayak-emergency shelter idea cooking in my head, I just have to get it out.

This is what I've been saving up for that rainy day (and you wonder why I'm always in thisdress):
  1. land before dark (!!)
  2. remove foot rest
  3. place all gears in a spare XXL garbage bag (to stay clear of sand)
  4. sponge dry cockpit
  5. wipe cockpit down with dry cloth
  6. make safe call
  7. setup clothesline to hang wet stuff in case the rain stops ...
  8. inflate thermorest, fit it inside the cockpit.  put aside pump if using one. (or large fluffy towel if thermorest is too much trouble)
  9. place sleeping bag in cockpit on top of thermorest, toss in food, drinks,  and First Aid kit for good measure.
  10. hang a small led light and mosquito mask around neck
  11. insert paddle shaft into the "tube" of the tent fly*** (or secure with large clothpins
  12. peg down/ tuck in free end of the tent fly under the kayak
  13. secure kayak position with divided up gears, support bow and stern on both sides. Secure the rudder.
  14. change into dry clothes, hang wet stuff or put them away for the night.  Oh, remember to pee (TP)before climbing in or else... u_u 
  15. wear the spare (dry) sprayskirt, loosen it up all the way around the waist, climb into cockpit and fit the skirt onto combing
  16. wiggle one shoulder into the sprayskirt and worm my way into the kayak, toss paddle-with-fly over to the other side of kayak to form loose rain cover
  17. turn on LED light, fix mosquito net onto sprayskirt waistband, (large ring, elastics)
  18. try to eat dinner with elbows tucked in ^_^;; and get some rest...
*** in case if I don't even have a tent fly, then split the paddle shaft and secure montana-windbreaker sleeves onto them with elastics.  Then toss them onto either side of cockpit just before I wiggle inside the kayak.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home