Videos
Preparing for Fraser Island expedition
- Category: Expeditions
- Published on Tuesday, 08 December 2009 07:50
- Written by Josh
Thursday, 22 October 2009 : It's been a long time since I've bubbled with this much anticipation, yet there's still about week to go before we embark on our Fraser Isl kayak fishing/sailing odyssey, so I can only imagine how I'll feel the night before we launch. Planning & preparation has been coming along nicely, with all four of us now pretty much kitted to the hilt. A fair bit of thought has gone into a lot of the equipment we're planning to use, with various email discussions circulating through the group in the past few weeks. Some topics have required more emphasis than others, as there are certain limitations related to having to be self-sufficient for eight days that we've had to find solutions for. Those topics are food & cooking, water, waste, communications, weight, storage, rod & tackle selection.
The topic of food has probably been the most challenging, largely because our plan is to base all main meals on whatever fish we catch. Not knowing exactly what we'll catch (and when) makes it difficult to plan each meal to the letter. And because we are disconnected from civilisation for over a week (hooray!) not only do we have to make sure we have enough ingredients to compliment various fish meals, we also have to store and carry it (and each of us also need to carry our own breakfast, lunch & grazing snacks on top of it all). Our approach is similar to that of an expedition trekking group. Holger & I are dehydrating a bunch of various fruit and vegetables (making them lighter, more compact and longer-lasting) with a view to be carrying more than enough to cover 8 days worth of main meals. We've been coordinating on who's drying out what, so as to ensure minimal crossover and maximum variety.
Carl & Paul are responsible for the staples - rice, pastas, etc, as well as sauces, spices. Their mandate is much the same, and equally challenging - to try to pack an appropriate amount that we don't go without when we'd rather not, at the same time avoiding packing too much. Fortunately we are all converging on Hervey Bay (our launch destination) the night before we leave, so we'll get a chance to do a last minute run-through as a group and should be able to tie up any loose ends.
Then there's the problem of how to cook the stuff. We can't fall back on typical cast-iron cookware, BBQ hotplates or tin billies, as these are simply too big and heavy for our requirements. So instead we're relying on ultra-light cookware, a combination of pots, pans & stoves from MSR, Primus & Trangia. We've opted for liquid fuel stoves (we're taking 3 burners) that are more reliable & easier to service in the field, very lightweight and highly efficient. Efficiency is the key word here - less fuel burnt means less fuel required to be carried. And unlike the gas variants, there are no empty canisters after use, reducing the bulk & weight of our respective rubbish bags. Camping at Fraser Island means taking your rubbish with you, so obviously we need to be aware of the kind of waste we will produce and have a plan for storing it. This dictates forethought into packing of consumables, and is one of the reasons that using so many dehydrated ingredients is a good idea.
H20 has also been an issue that has been discussed a fair bit, with the calculation made that we'll all need to carry at least 15 lt's of water each. All of us are packing a 6lt MSR Dromedary bag, due to their suitability for packing, durability & convenience (the cap pourers are excellent, and the wide-mouth fitting can be used in conjunction with a water filter. We'll all also be carrying various plastic bottles filled with water (destined to be stuffed into the hulls). Originally my intention was to use Drom bags exclusively, but Holger made the very good point that it makes sense to carry larger amounts of water in seperate containers. Partly because it allows you to distribute weight evenly throughout the hull, and also prevents the risk of contamination spreading through the entire supply.
Equipment storage always requires a bit of vigilance on a kayak and even more so on an Adventure Island trimaran. When the wind gets up and the island gets going (especially in rougher waters) the island makes for a very wet ride, and everything that isn't 100% watertight will be exposed. So we've all being pretty particular in selection of dry bags and containers. Amongst us are several large Pelican waterproof boxes as well as drybags in various forms from Sealine, Hobie, Sea to Summit & WetTX.
Communications was an interesting topic. Amid the considerations were UHF & VHF radios as well as phones. The latter suggestion was squelched pretty quickly, due to a strong desire to get cut off from civilisation and stay cut off for the duration of the trip. Besides... none of our phones are waterproof. But our radios are. In the end we opted for VHF, partly because waterproof models were more accessible (and 2 of the group already had them) and also because VHF was a better option for future kayak fishing endeavours, group or otherwise. Paul and Holger are carrying Icom units and Carl and I are packing the less expensive and not quite so badass looking Eagle variant.
Rod selection isn't in any way group dependant, so there's going to be a variety of brands & styles being used, though I think all of us will have a similar load out: one big trolling rod for bruiser pelagics (we're anticipating tuna, and hoping for mackerel and marlin), one beefy casting rod for dealing with schooling fish, and a lighter 'flickstick' for smaller species if and when the need arises. I'm carrying 3 Nitros: the trusty Godzilla, the ever dependable Viper and the sleek 007 Magnum Butt travel rod (which will spend most of it's travel time packed inside the hull). Each of these is fitted with a Daiwa Sol (4000, 3000 & 2500 respectively).
You probably wouldn't believe the lengths we're going to in order to catch all the action on video. Each one of is equipped with a Sanyo Xacti HD waterproof camera and among the group there are 20 batteries for these alone (yes, 20 is not a missprint). Carl, holger and I are also carrying Panasonic Lumix cams as well (also waterproof HD) and between us are carrying 12 batteries. We don't need to be so heavy on memory cards though, because Paul is carrying an ultra-mobile PC that will allow us to dump data on to at the end of each day. if the fish are on - and we're expecting them to be - there is going to be hours & hours of footage, not to mention hundreds of photos. I'm using 16GB class 6 SD cards in both cameras.
Obviously we also have to be prepared for maintenance issues that may arise, so we'll definitely be carrying more spares than you normally would for a one-day outing. Fortunately I have direct access to the full range of Hobie spares, so I've organised a spares kit that should cover the groups needs: rudder pins, chains, fins & masts, etc. Ideally we won't have to use any of it and if the others are as vigilant as me, it's unlikely we'll have to. My Miragedrive has been fully dismantled and thoroughly serviced, with every component individually cleaned & lubricated. The rudder has been tuned, all hatch seals have been reconditioned and the sail mast roller bearings lubed. Cams and pulley blocks have also been been lubed and all screw in fittings have been checked for sealing & integrity. Along the way I also lined the forward hatch lid with 2mm close-cell foam, which has certainly made for a tighter seal (to eliminate seepage from the inevitable bow-burying) and modified my bungee system in the rear storage well to better secure my load.
Servicing the yak with so much vigilance has taken a few good hours, but the effort well worth it. It might not look it, but my kayak is currently performing better than the day I bought it. It's ready to go, and so am I!
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