6

EXPEDITION PLANNING (part 1) by Robin Boundy

Robin Boundy provided a really thorough and practical presentation on planning for expeditions at the 2010 VSKC Forum. He is of course very well qualified to do this given his extensive sea kayak expedition experience, including two Bass Strait crossings, the most recent in 2010 as leader. What follows below is part 1 of Robin’s forum paper (with the rest to be published in subsequent ST Issues).

When considering a multi-day

expedition, especially in remote areas,

there is a great deal of planning

involved. Some of the area’s that need

to be considered when planning an

expedition are –

1. Who should participate on the

expedition

2. Rules of participation

3. Training for the expedition

4. Planning the Expedition

5. Gear and equipment

6. Food and Consumables

7. Navigation

8. Environment, weather, stream

flow, tides etc.

9. Safety / Risk management

In part 1 of this paper I will deal with the

first two areas.

1. WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR

WHEN CHOOSING PARTICIPANTS

FOR AN EXPEDITION?

Before selecting participants for an

expedition, you need to clearly

define the demands of the trip

including sea conditions, required

skill, equipment needed, proposed

route and approximate length of

daily paddles. Ask each participant

to detail their experience and check

that they are confident that they can

manage the demands of the trip.

It is also helpful to ascertain the

following information –

Have you paddled with the other

paddlers before over an

extended period of time in a

variety of conditions? People can

behave differently, sometimes

for the worse in stressful

situations.

Do they add strength and

security or could they weaken

the group and be a liability?

Consider their overall health and

fitness. Will they be able to

achieve the required fitness

necessary?

Do they have good paddling,

rescue and in particular good

self-rescue skills?

Do they have sufficient

knowledge of weather and tides?

Do they have the necessary land

skills such as camping, cooking,

communication, fishing and

eager group participation?

2. RULES FOR PARTICIPATION

Once you have your team assem-

bled, it is worthwhile to have an

initial meeting allowing members the

opportunity to express opinions and

explore ideas.

Trip goals and itinerary can be clearly

defined, expectations and respon-

sibilities made clear so that all

understand what is expected of

them.

Expedition rules may consist of the

following -

An agreement to attend most

if not all training sessions

Agreement to train outside the

scheduled training sessions

All gear required for the

expedition must be of a high

standard, tried and tested

prior to the trips commence-

ment

Once the expedition

commences, all must agree to

paddle as a pod at all times

unless a group decision is

made to separate. This would

need to be an extraordinary

situation.

Part 2 of this presentation follows in

the next ST issue

21

EXPEDITION PLANNING part 2, by Robin Boundy

In Sea Trek Issue 68 Robin provided some really helpful advice about expedition planning, addressing „who should participate on the expedi-

tion?‟ and „Rules for participation. Below Robin continues his advice (based on his November 2010 VSKC Forum presentation).

TRAINING FOR AN EXPEDITION

When training for an expedition like a

Bass Strait Crossing, it should almost

become an obsession, a lifestyle where

everything you do on a daily basis in

some part is contributing to the expedi-

tion. Raia Wall rode her bike to work,

rain, hail or shine for months leading up

to our trip, losing a phenomenal 16 kg in

the process! Neil gave up sugar and take-

away foods losing significant weight

also.

Doing some weight training for extra

strength definitely helped me when it

came to powering into wind and seas or

moving heavily laden boats. Cardio-

vascular training can be a life saver as

you are certain at some time during an

extended expedition to find it necessary

to punch into a tough tide or head wind,

maybe for 10 km or more to meet your

destination.

Our training trips consisted of both blue

water and Bay paddles in a variety of

conditions. On some of our training

days, we added extra weight to the boats

and I highly recommend that you practice

the formations you plan to paddle during

the expedition. This will highlight any

issues of paddlers not sticking to their

agreed positions in the pod and also al-

lows you to practice the best formations

in rough conditions.

So the long day paddles, the short high

intensity paddles combined with good

diet and other exercise, had the five of us

fighting fit by the time we were ready to

depart.

We took the weekend off before our de-

parture. That small break allowed our

bodies to recover from months of training

and by the date of our departure, we were

jumping out of our skins to get going.

During the break from training, there is

still plenty to do. You are in the final

stages of getting all your gear and

equipment together, all your food pre-

pared and going over extensive lists,

double checking your route, tide tables,

weather and float plan. You are also

trying to stay healthy knowing a simple

cold could prevent you from participating

on the expedition.

PLANNING FOR EXPEDITIONS

When planning an expedition, it is im-

portant to do your research. We studied

the weather patterns for Bass Strait for

the time of year we wished to paddle. I

crossed Bass Strait many times on paper.

I would email Raia after reading a favor-

able weather report for Bass Strait and

say, ―we are going today‖.

From there we would make our way

across Bass Strait deciding when to go

and when to sit out the weather. From

this exercise you will soon realize how

scarce the good paddling days are. You

also get to learn from your bad decisions

safely! It is important to study both ma-

rine and topographical charts for the

entire route. I also zoomed in with

Google earth on every island noting all

possible safe landing area‘s and bail out

points imagining different wind and sea

directions for each location.

By the time our trip commenced, I had

such a vivid mental picture of the entire

route that l felt as long as l had a watch,

tides tables and a compass, l could paddle

the route in the dark without a GPS.

We chose March for our expedition, we

felt from our observations that March

gave us the best chance of getting the

appropriate weather to do a crossing,

taking into account the best balance of

weather, daylight hours and temperature.

Ideally you should have enough daylight

duration to successfully paddle from one

location to the next.

If it is necessary to paddle in the dark-

ness, make it in the morning at the start

of the day. It is much easier to paddle

out to sea in the dark whilst you are fresh

and alert than paddling into an unknown

shore in the dark possibly tired and una-

ble to see any dangerous obstructions in

the water or to accurately access the entry

conditions. This also highlights the bene-

fit of taking a mental note of the sur-

roundings when you arrive at your desti-

nation and if necessary turn your kayak

as if you are leaving and note the com-

pass bearing and distance required to

clear the beach, cove, headland, rocks

etc. before continuing on your calculated

compass bearing to your next destination.

On leaving Winter Cove in the dark, I

knew l had to paddle approx. 1.1 km on a

bearing of 100 degrees to avoid rocks

approx. 250 m off the S.E side of the

cove before taking our S.E bearing to

Flinders Island.

FLOAT PLAN & LAND SUPPORT

You should list on your float plan your

expected start date, a trip overview,

communication and safety equipment

carried and details of the participants,

their mobile phone #‘s, boat descriptions

and car registrations if applicable. This

person or persons will be your main con-

tact throughout your journey; will know

your movements and how to respond

should they not hear from you at the

required time.

On our Bass Strait Crossing, it was de-

cided that any emergency callout would

be made by the paddling group. As there

were 5 of us, all with epirbs, mobile

phones and two spot trackers, it would be

unlikely that one of us could not get a

call out if needed. This also removed the

unnecessary pressure on the shore contact

and the paddling group should they end

up in an area difficult to communicate

back to shore.

Next issue, Robin continues with Gear

and equipment, Food and Consumables,

and Navigation (Ed)

Peter Costello, Raia Wall, Neil Brenton, Tom and Robin Boundy

19

EXPEDITION PLANNING part 3, by Robin Boundy

In Sea Trek Issues 68 and 69 Robin provided some really helpful advice about expedition planning, addressing, who should participate, rules forparticipation, training and planning for expeditions (based on his 2010 Bass Strait crossing).

GEAR AND EQUIPMENT

It always amazes me on how much gearwe take on an expedition. It starts with alist and by the time you’re finished, ittakes up a whole A4 on both sides! Yetsomehow it all fits in your kayak!The first group of items are for gettingfrom A to B and should be accessiblefrom your cockpit!

� Kayak, Paddle and leash� Spare paddle and Spray skirt� PFD / Life Jacket and Cag� Gloves, Thermals, Hats / helmet� Sun Glasses and Booties� Water bottle or bladder� Phone with emergency #’s in an

aqua pack and GPS in an aqua pack� Strobe, Epirb, Signal mirror� Whistle� 15 m tow rope and 1m tow rope� First aid kit / medication� First aid book if not first aid savvy� Sun screen and Flares� Repair Kit� Poncho and Safety blanket� HF Radio� Hand pump� Sea anchor and Knife� Spot tracking device� Satellite phone and Cameras� Charts and tide tables� Head lamp / Torch and Watch� Bungee cord with olive cleat� Paddle float

And then you have your land gear. Allitems should ideally be packed into drybags or doubled up in garbage bags un-less unaffected by moisture. And ofcourse for some of the items listed, youmay need a sub list!

For example your first aid kit will needits own list of contents, the repair kit willneed its own list of contents and you mayvery well have a list for your land andpaddling apparel.� Cockpit cover� Tent and Tarp� Sleeping bag and liner� Pillow and Towel� Head lamp� Land clothes and Boots� Rain gear� Extra paddling gear / thermals� Trangia and methylated spirits and

Utensils

� Bowl / Plate or both� Cup or mug and Wash cloth� Wilderness soap / Dettol / Baby

wipes� Deodorant and Lanolin for abra-

sions� Toilet paper and Trowel� Rubbish bags� Matches, lighter or flint� Fishing line and Spare batteries� Fly net� Battery chargers, solar panel� Short wave radio� Hand held compass� Pen, pencil and note book� Money, credit cards

FOOD AND CONSUMABLES

Just when you thought you had enoughlists, you have your food lists and on anextended expedition, the simpler thebetter. I had a breakfast list, lunch list,dinner list and an on water food list asmany lunches will be on the ocean.

On an extended expedition, you wantfood high in energy but not too bulky orheavy to carry.

� My breakfast list was easy. Por-ridge, brown sugar and milk pow-der plus some dry fruit muesli forvariety. I also carried a tall plasticcup with a lid; l simply added themilk powder and water, put on thelid, gave it a good shake for smoothgreat tasting milk.

� Lunches most days may be on thewater unless your expedition is fol-lowing land with many stoppingopportunities or islands very closetogether. When lunch is required onthe water, it may need to be pre-pared before departure each day.Again simple is best. I tended tostick with Vita wheat crackers, sao

biscuits with kraft cheese, vege-mite, peanut butter and salami. I al-so included a pun net of roma to-matoes. The Romas can take abeating in the day hatch and last fordays. The taste and spurt of mois-ture from one Roma whilst at sea isvery refreshing. I also carried sa-chets of tuna and salmon.

� I always carried nuts, scroggin mixand jelly beans for added energywhen needed or if conditions weretoo rough and uncomfortable tostop paddling to eat.

On our trip, we agreed to stop briefly onthe hour to drink some water and eatsome nuts or other quick snack. The aimis to not allow your energy levels to getso low that you feel fatigued or risk de-hydration. You can’t go past dehydratedfood for multi day expeditions and if youare prepared to do a little research, youwill realize how quickly you can produce30 days of great tasting meals at a veryreasonable cost.

I also like to add the odd dinner of freshfish or abalone for a break from dehifood. But remember that certain areasmay be a marine reserve where fishing isillegal. You need to make yourself awareof these areas as part of your trip plan-ning. Much of the area around Erith Is-land, Tasmania is a reserve, however,you can fish around most of Deal Islandbut not in Murray Passage.

Most of the campsites we selected wereknown to be relatively sheltered in mostconditions and some of them had a watersource available to us. By far the heavi-est item carried apart from yourself is thewater you need and at 1 kg per litre, theweight quickly adds up. I generally car-ried 17 litres of water, a 6 litre bladder, 2x 4 litre bladders, 2 to 3 litres in my PFDbladder and my drink bottle.

As with most things, food and consuma-bles taken on an extended expedition canbe wide and varied with some paddlersbeing quite creative.

As well as your primary dietary needs,there always seems to be some spaceavailable for some luxury items such as alitre of red wine, port or other favoritecampsite drink, pre-dinner snacks and theodd sweet desert.

Next issue, Robin continues with direc-tions regarding Navigation (Ed)

14

EXPEDITION PLANNING (part 4) by Robin Boundy

This is the fourth of a series of articles by Robin Boundy adapted from a lecture presentation to the 2010 VSKC forum. It was developed from a Bass Strait expedition early in 2010 with a number of other VSKC paddlers, including Robin’s 18 year old son Tom. (Ed)

NAVIGATION TOOLS

The navigation tools used during our

earlier trip across Bass Strait were pri-

marily charts, compass and GPS.

Personally l like charts and compass best

as they are dependable and not subject to

failure. A GPS can stop working for a

whole range of reasons from flat battery,

excessive moisture or even over heating

in the aqua pack.

When using your GPS, you should have

already inputted into the GPS unit prior

to the trips commencement your:

waypoints or destination coordi-

nates for your planned destinations

bail out points

locations of interest

alternate campsites

Like all your equipment on your expedi-

tion, you need to be competent at quickly

punching in the correct inputs to come up

with the information you need whilst on

the water.

CHART TIPS

It is important to remember when plot-

ting a new course from your charts, to

convert from True North on the chart

compass rose to Magnetic North on your

boat compass.

The current magnetic variation between

true north and magnetic north in the Bass

Strait is approximately 12 degrees East. I

should add that it is critically important

to check the particular magnetic variation

on the appropriate chart for other loca-

tions you are planning to paddle.

You will need to deduct 12 degrees to get

your magnetic bearing on your kayak

deck compass. When converting from a

compass or magnetic reading to the chart,

you need to add 12 degrees. A helpful

way to remember this is the following

ditty:

Variation East, compass least (substract)

Variation West, compass best (add)

For our Bass Strait trip this meant:

FROM CHART to compass – sub-

tract 12 degrees

FROM COMPASS to chart - add

12 degrees.

WEATHER FORCAST REPORTS

There are a variety of methods for getting

your weather reports during the expedi-

tion and the Australian Bureau of Mete-

orology weather reports are amazingly

accurate these days. These can be ob-

tained via short wave radio, mobile inter-

net on your phone, marine radio, mobile

or satellite phone calls or from locals and

other boaters if in the area.

On any paddling triop you must have the

capabilities of getting the weather reports

via short wave radio as you will not al-

ways have mobile coverage.

If you have any mobile coverage at all, l

highly recommend obtaining the report

directly from the BOM web site. The

short wave radio invariably sounds like

Donald Duck, can be easily missed and

can lose its signal at the very worst mo-

ment.

The BOM report is exactly the same

report, in text on your phone where you

can read it slowly, take notes and recheck

the information.

Before the expedition begins, you need to

be aware of the reports required for the

different locations as the trip progresses.

Before each day commences, it is im-

portant to outline the route and expected

weather conditions and the effect this has

on the sea state as the day progresses. A

long day on the water will include one or

more tidal changes and the affects should

be made clear to the pod prior to the

day‟s commencement.

In the next Sea Trek Issue, Robin will

continue his tips for planning expedi-

tions.