Goinground PELEPONNESE 2016

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early morning paddles before dawn in case the head torch I used would not
work during the first (dark) phase of the crossing.
○ In-case-case: as mentioned above a really trip- or a crossing saver as I could
use another head torch from the case. I might add a lighter for the next trip.
Apart from that the contents of a knife and light worked out well.
○ PFD: “Fully charged”: another new learning of the Peleponnese trip: bought a
new PFD (Astral …) Pimped up with a waterproof bag I worked better than
my old Palm Kaikoura which in fact had too many pockets. Fully charged it
contained:
■ Money+key bag in an extra waterproof bag clipped in the big front bag
■ Net bag with at least 3 Snickers bars in the big front pocket
■ Spot tracker in the zip pocket in front
■ On the vest: a waterproof simple watch (from Decathlon)
■ Two Orbiloc lights: one red for the rear one white for the front (for
night and dawn paddes)
■ Rescue-knife: the clip at the front of the vest always got loose. Note:
have to find a better solution to fix it
■ Waterproof Decathlon watch: cheapest you can get for 9,99 € and
completely water resistant - best value
■ VHF: “wearing-out” after 2 year’s intense use. Might need replacement
:-(
■ For-whatever-carabiner: found it handy to always have at good
carabiner at hand for any case I might need one. And I needed one
from time to time. So that worked out for me. Had it clipped to one of
the straps of the PFD.
○ Wee-pee-bottle”: a Nalgene bottle, rectangular, 500 ml, some Duct-tape
wrapped round the middle for use as instant repair or plaster for injuries. The
string I wrapped around for immediate use got always loose. Better think of
placing it differently for the next trip. The bottle “worked” well during the
crossings especially for its original purpose, up to 3-4 Bft.
Single pieces of gear
○ “Fensterleder”: I had fixed on my deck lines and used it regularly for cleaning
my glasses and the lenses of my camera
○ Digi-Cam (incl. Pouch): I bought the Lumix FT 5 just before the trip and I am
just amazed about the easy handling, the perfect saltwater resistance and
the long lasting batteries.
○ Waterbag as backrest: A discovery by chance. I had to put the Ortlieb
waterbag somewhere and I do not like backrests. So in fact I removed the
backrest and put the waterbag there. Then I discovered that by filling it more
or less with water I had flexible fitting system for a back support. I will work on
that with my other boat and try to improve the system.
○ Mapcase: The “Axel Pack” from seakayak.nl again proved to be the best map
case ever.
○ Trolley: Also from seakayak.nl and also just perfect.
○ Cowtail as Lifeline. I fixed a standard Cowtail from white water kayaking to my
PFD and clipped this to my kayak. The perfect cobination for me of being
connected to my kayak and being free to move without getting messed up in
a long line. That worked well.
©Christian Dingenotto 2018 34