Ok, so what sort of gear do I bring with me on a sail? The following picture is of the gear that is in my "standard" set. The weather report is for rainy tomorrow morning then partially cloudy to partially sunny for the rest of the weekend. Highs around 16 degres, lows around 6 or 7. So I need to dress warmly, but in layers, with rain protection as well.
Starting from the left, the red box circles my PFD and safety tether. I don't think I'll need the safety tether for this sail, but it doesn't take up much room and I want to get in the habit of having it with me. Next to it in the pale blue box is the rain jacket and pants (and farther to the right is my rain hat even though the rain jacket has a hood). They don't offer much warmth, but are a good, solid, rain shedding pair, large enough for me to wear things under them. Above it, in the green box, are my deck shoes and toiletries. Purple blotch is a super-absorbent, quick-drying, towel. You don't rub, you have to pat yourself dry with it, but it's tiny and dries in next to no time. The little white box just to the right of the toiletries is my head-mounted lamp in case I have to be on deck at night for something. It has both a red and white illlumination. In the dark blue box are my iPad and my GPS receiver/bluetooth sender that I use for navigation (it has current charts for all of north america) plus the stainless steel utility knife I have with me when on deck. Both the iPad and the knife are on lanyards to keep them from falling overboard. And, lastly, underneath the iPad is my log book. You can also see my sleeping bag and my sailing/work gloves.
What's missing from the picture is my paper navigation equipment such as dividers, rulers, sight bearing compass, pencils, and paper charts. For this weekend I won't need them since Quijote is equipped with them. Truthfully, most of the paper chartwork has been taken over by electronics such as chart plotters and iPads. It's still important to keep in practice using them, but for this short trip, I'm not going to bother.
Also not pictured is my new traveling companion - the stuffed bear! This will be his first trip.There are two other groups of things. First is clothing. I'm bringing a single pair of pants, two changes of underwear, three pairs of socks, a thick sweater, a hoodie, a warm jacket, and a warm pair of gloves. I may elect to leave some of that in the car when I arrive in Seattle, but since I am taking the car to the boat, I figure I can bring it at least that far. My sweater doubles as my pillow (yes, it's that thick). Most questionable is whether I need the rain jacket in the picture if I'm bringing the warm jacket which is also waterproof. I'll have to think on that a bit.
The last group of things that aren't pictures is the mechanical knotmeter and my (cheap, plastic) sextant. I'll leave the sextant home since there won't be horizons to use with it. The knotmeter might be fun to bring along.
All of that will go into my sea bag, though it still seems like too much and I should pare it down even further. We'll see. Here's a picture of it all packed up:
I might not be posting for the next three days. It all depends on if I can get a wifi connection. I will write each day, but posting them might have to wait until I get back.
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