packing

Still have a few weeks until the fall trip on Chesapeake Bay.  In the meantime I've got some other traveling to do so packing now to have SPARTINA and the gear/food ready to go once I'm back.

Above you'll see the mango-colored dry suit.  Going clockwise from top right the two green stuff sacks contain freeze dried dinners, those will be put in the storage areas underneath the thwart.  Red mesh bag has some small items that get spread out in different compartments/places on the boat.  The little blue tub has an insulated mug, tea bags and hot chocolate for chilly mornings and evening.  Below that are the four pieces of sleeping gear - inflatable mat with an inflatable pillow rolled inside, bivy and 30 degree sleeping bag, they live on SPARTINA up underneath the foredeck.  Next you'll see inflatable pfd/harness with a strobe and plb (personal locator beacon) attached.  Binoculars are bottom right.

Lower left is the 30 liter dry bag for clothes.  Above that is green insulated lunch box, four plastic jars trail mix and, to the left, gps, anchor light and SPOT tracking device.  Smaller orange dry bag is the hypothermia kit (I need to sort through that today) and plastic jars of crackers.  The two orange waterproof duffels above that are stored port and starboard midships on SPARTINA, starboard one contains the cooking kit, port duffel contains books and logbook.  At top left the red box contains 15 days of breakfasts and lunches, each day in a gallon freezer bag and those will all go in the thwart storage areas.  Plus there are vacuum sealed packed of breakfast/lunch supplies for two more weeks.

It always surprises me that the gear, plus other stuff not in the photo at the top, somehow all fits comfortably on the boat.  The photo below, from day seven on last fall's sail, leaving out of South Creek off the West River, shows a lot of the gear tucked in place below the coaming.

 

A few weeks to go.  Can't wait to cast off.