Crossing the Ditch
Page 28
Above right: After arriving in NZ, it was strange having people look up to us as role models.
Left: Adventure isn’t all about getting ugly. Life after the Tasman would never be the same – not that it’s been like this ever since!
Below: Sydney International Boat Show 2008. Sharing our story with people all around the world has been a real privilege.
One of the lessons that crossing the ditch kept driving home was not to take life too seriously. This is Justin and me putting in the hard yards on Sydney Harbour prior to our departure.
We were incredibly honoured to have our expedition recognised by commemorative plaques at Forster and New Plymouth. Here’s the one in NZ.
Life is all about relationships: Mia and me in January 2009. I’ve never been happier.
APPENDIX
CROSSING THE DITCH – HOW WE APPROACHED IT
1. RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH
After we first had the idea to cross the Tasman, we began to ask as many questions as possible that we’d need to answer before deciding whether or not it could be done. Over a 13-month period, asking and answering these questions, as well as our subsequent research, led to the creation of our risk management document – a 50-page blueprint on how to cross the Tasman. It was initially designed for ourselves, but it proved to be a really useful document in convincing other stakeholders that it was possible to cross the Tasman, unsupported and in a kayak.
2. EQUIPMENT
The risk management research gave us an indication of the equipment we’d need to safely cross the Tasman. Our equipment needs were similar to the rowers of the Woodvale Atlantic Challenge, Sydney to Hobart and round-the-world sailors. There had only been a handful of transoceanic kayak crossings in the previous hundred years. Although each of these voyages was closely examined and scrutinised, in terms of equipment, not much was learnt from these voyages.
Description Weight Quantity Total Weight (kgs)
PADDLERS
James 85 1 85
Justin 95 1 95
Lot 41 hull 200
Clothing (wet and dry) Icebreaker Bodyfit Kokotat Gore-Tex cag and drysuit 10 2 20
Personal effects 7 2 14
Bedding – Synthetic Roman Sleeping bags 4 2 8
iPod and H20 Audio Waterproof casing 1 2 2
LOGISTICAL SUPPLIES
Water 80 1 80
Food 1.6 100 160
Medical supplies (basically a Cat 0 kit) 8 1 8
PADDLING EQUIPMENT
Paddles (Solution flat-bladed snap down paddles) 1 2 2
Spare paddles 1 2 2
Splash decks and night covers 1 4 4
Sunglasses (Rudy Project) 3
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
Power distribution box/Battery charge box/PV 8 1 8
Electrics i.e. lights, wiring, etc 10 1 10
Deep cycle batteries 24 3 72
Solar panels 2 2 4
Bilge pumps 0.92 1 0.92
Water pumps and extract 2 1 2
EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT
RFD liferaft 20 1 20
Emergency supplies for raft 6 1 6
Aquafix Personal 406 EPIRBs 0.3 2 0.6
Life jackets-Type 2 PFD 1 2 1
WATER DESALINATION
Katadyn Power Survivor 40E 11.3 1 11.3
Katadyn Survivor 35 3.2 1 3.2
COMMUNICATIONS
Iridium satellite handset 0.3 2 0.6
Satellite aerial 0.13 1 0.13
VHF radio system 1.3 1 1.3
Panasonic Toughbook 1.2 1 1.2
TracPlus – Daestra 1.6 1 1.6
NAVIGATION
GarminGPS 0.3 2 0.6
GPS aerial 0.13 1 0.13
WEATHER
Series drogue and rope 10 1 10
Para-anchor (and retrieval set-up) 5 1 5
TOTAL 830
3. HEAVY WEATHER
Facing heavy weather in a small craft is daunting, to say the least. Large seas can be broken up into two categories: breaking and non-breaking waves. In his book Heavy Weather Sailing, Peter Bruce noted about the latter: “a conventional yacht’s stability is such that it cannot be capsized by even the combined action of wind and waves, no matter how high and steep, if they are not breaking.” Breaking waves are the primary concern of heavy weather.
The US Coast Guard states that: “It is important to note that most storms do not create dangerous breaking waves”; however, it is breaking waves that cause offshore vessels to capsize, which generally occurs when the vessel is caught beam on (side on) to breaking waves. Tests have shown that breaking waves with a wave height of 30 per cent of the hull length could capsize some vessels. All boats tested capsized when the height of the wave was 60 per cent of the vessel’s hull length.
After speaking with numerous sailors and conducting our own research, the manner in which we prepared for this heavy weather out on the Tasman was to:
Before we left: Construct a vessel with the structural integrity to handle 20-metre breaking waves
Before the storm: We were well prepared for the heavy weather before it arrived. The first stage of this was being aware of the conditions expected. Our weather forecasts and warnings came from: Roger Badham and on-sea observations of cloud type, wind/swell direction, barometric pressure etc.
A major part of our strategy was to: have the series drogue deployed; be in the cabin, all safety gear checked and ready to be deployed if need be; and ensure both of us were prepared – i.e. well fed, hydrated and strapped in – before the weather hit.
Ride it out: Ensure the appropriate drogue/sea anchor was deployed. Of the 62 nights we were at sea, we deployed the parachute anchor 51 times (fouled twice), series drogue twice and rode with general conditions on six nights. The series drogue handled the roughest weather we encountered much better than the parachute anchor. We deployed both pieces of equipment off a bridle attached to a five-point anchor system on the stern of the kayak. Both retrieval and deployment were done from the rear cockpit. Note the close cell foam wrapped around the bridle in order to prevent it fouling with the rudder. We designed the system so that the main line to the storm gear deployed would snap before the bridle and the attachment points to the kayak.
4. DESIGN OF KAYAK
The design of the kayak evolved around the provisions and safety gear that would be needed. We tossed up a multitude of designs including:
Using the room of the cockpits to sleep in with a cover that came over the cockpits at night;
Small cabin in the middle of the kayak separating the two cockpits;
Rear cabin.
Design A was avoided, as life in the cockpit – of any kayak – is constantly wet. There would be no escaping the salt water. This would increase the risk of skin infections, damage to vital communications gear, and result in a much colder voyage, thus increasing the risk of hypothermia and poor judgement from lack of quality sleep.
Design B wasn’t chosen, as paddling a double kayak with 1.5 metres separating the two paddlers would make timing the paddle strokes incredibly difficult and the rear paddle would be staring at the cabin rear, which would not be all that pleasant!
Design C was agreed upon, but still was not perfect. Because we were expecting 60–70 per cent of the wind to come from the west, we did not feel that either the vertical face of the cabin door, or the profile of the cabin, would be that much of an issue. However, we paddled into headwinds for 90 per cent of the voyage, which caught the cabin face constantly. In hindsight, we would have reduced the profile of the cabin.
Two critical design considerations of Lot 41 were:
The kayak had to be positively buoyant, i.e. if every bulkhead filled with water, she would still float;
The stern of the kayak had to blow up into the wind when the kayak was drifting. This ensured relatively dry entry into the cabin and that the bulk of weather would roll over the sleek profile of the stern.
5. KAYAK CONSTRUCTION
The budgeted time-frame was 12 weeks to complete
the basic hull. This was completely inadequate, and as with all unique designs, the time line blew out to close to double what we’d anticipated. The boat builder, Graham Chapman, believed the delay was caused by several factors, including the use of epoxy resin (which has a long cure time compared with Vinyl Ester resin – the designer was adamant about using this) and the constant changes to the design due to perceived flaws in the CAD design, i.e. not enough storage room in the cabin, and size of the water tanks on board. The fit-out of the bilging, wiring and portholes, etc, took another six weeks.
Basic hull laminate:
Outerside layer:
Eglass 300 weight twill weave
Kevlar 285 weight plain weave
Double Bias 450 weight fibreglass
Core:
Klegecell foam core 8 millimetre
Inside layer:
Double Bias 450 weight fibreglass
Kevlar 285 weight plain weave
Eglass 300 weight twill weave
SLEEPING AND PADDLING POSITIONS IN LOT 41
Justin was in the rear cockpit (steering the rudder) and slept in the tight end of the cabin. I paddled in the front cockpit and slept with my head next to the cabin door: the fresh air helped enormously with seasickness.
6. ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
Craig Thomsen from Solar Sailor/Enlog Sytems both designed and built the electrical system on board Lot 41. With a basic brief of what power needs we had, Craig designed a system that was far more extensive and robust than any other system designed for a small boat voyage to date. The main power drainages were:
Desalinator
Satellite phone
Laptop (for marine charts and email)
TracPlus transmitter
Comar Class B AIS transponder
Electric bilge systems
Video and still camera charge
Electric fan
iPod charge
There were two stand-alone solar charge systems on board Lot 41, and three separate power storage/supply systems. This gave us redundancy in the event of a system going down. Craig drilled into us that the crossing was an exercise in maintenance and patience, rather than paddling. So long as we maintained our bodies, the craft and our electrics, there was no reason why we couldn’t cross the Tasman. He was right.
7. SPONSORSHIP/BRANDING
As two relatively young blokes, we found it crucial to show a high level of professionalism right from the start. After we’d completed our risk management document, and on paper knew we could paddle a kayak across the Tasman, we then spent all our effort designing our “image”. Ben Barin’s invaluable input in this phase was critical in ensuring we were able to get funding and sponsorship. This included:
logo and brand design – “Crossing the Ditch”
business cards
website
letterhead
elaborate and tailored sponsorship proposals
We soon learnt that sponsorship from a company is not a charity donation. It was crucial that “Crossing the Ditch” would provide a tangible return to each of our sponsors. Before we sent any proposal to a prospective sponsor, we’d ask ourselves: “What’s in it for them?” We’d only proceed if we felt that we’d accept the offer if it was sent to us. It was important to keep in mind that each potential sponsor had different measures of quantifying a return on investment. Finally, product support is infinitely easier to source than cash. Everything from our hull laminates to the 20 kilograms of almonds we ate out there was sourced from sponsors.
8. TRAINING
Coach Steve Vermay from Race Recon helped design our training regime. On average, we trained 25–30 hours per week from July 2006–Oct 2007. We rotated through the following cycle to achieve our goals:
Foundation building: 4–6 weeks
Power training: 3–4 weeks
Cardio-power endurance: 4–6 weeks
Cardio and muscular endurance training: 3–4 weeks
Rest: 1 week
The primary goal of training was to make our bodies as indestructible as possible. This meant bulking up both fat and muscle stores while building our endurance. See below, a sample of a weekly training schedule:
“Getting Ugly” weekends, where we’d push our boundaries hard, played a big part in helping us prepare for the Tasman. Extreme exercise with both food and sleep deprivation was the goal. This was perhaps the most valuable training we did prior to the Tasman expedition. It taught us how to suffer, but more importantly how to keep moving when our bodies were begging us to stop.
9. EXPEDITION NUTRITION
Food is a critical aspect of any expedition. It provides both the fuel (duh!) and motivation to keep going. We based our meal plan on both Antarctic/Arctic sled-hauling expeditions and the meal plans followed by participants in the annual Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race. We found 6000 calories sufficient for the energy we were expending. When we had to cut to half rations on day 33, significant weight loss occurred.
CROSSING THE DITCH
Sample Food Plan
Objective:
To establish a plan for a sustainable diet for a period of 50 days at sea that will provide the following:
Between 5000-6000 Calories/ Day
Diet consists of approx. 45% Carbohydrates
Diet consists of approx. 15% Protein
Diet consists of approx. 40% Fats
Total food weight per person per day
<1.5kg =>1.5kg x 2 persons x 50 days = 150kg
Here’s a one-day food sample from out on the Tasman:
Here’s a one-day food sample from out on the Tasman:
BREAKFAST
“150g Muesli, 50g powdered milk, 60g Sustagen, Fibre Plus bar, 500ml water”
Muesli Powdered Milk Sustagen Powdered Milk Bar – Kellogg’s K-time bar
Per Serve 150g Per Serve 50g Per Serve 60g Per Serve 50g Per Serve 33.4g
Energy – Cal 650 108 64.8 108 120.00
Protein – grams 13.65 5.26 15 5.26 1.67
Fat – grams 20.1 6 0.4 6 0.63
Carbohyd rates – grams 97.05 8.4 40 8.4 25.67
MID MORN LUNCH
“Protein Bar, Scroggin and Sports Drink” “Dehydrated meal, tuna (foil pack)”
Protein Bar “Scroggin-seeds (40%) (sunflower seeds and Pepitas), Fruit (40%) (Sultanas, dried apricots) Sports drink Sample Honey Soy Chicken (Back Country Cuisine) Tuna
Per Serve 65g Per Serve 200g Per Serve 25g Per Serve 175g Per Serve 100g
Energy – Cal 260 915 90 393.88 117.83
Protein – grams 20.2 32.5 0 17.5 25.1
Fat – grams 6 100 0 11.9 1.8
Carbohydrates – grams 31.5 75 15 55.6 0.1
MID ARVO DINNER
“Power Bar, Scroggin” Dehydrated meal
Main Meal Dessert
Protein Bar Scroggin Sample: Honey Soy Chicken Olive Oil Supplement Snickers Bar
Per Serve 65g Per Serve 200g Per Serve 175g Per Serve 100g Per Serve 60g
Energy – Cal 255 915 393.88 885 280
Protein – grams 20.1 32.5 17.5 0 4
Fat – grams 5.1 100 11.9 100 14
Carbohydrates – grams 28.9 75 55.6 0 35
TOTAL TOTAL WEIGHT= 1508G
Percentage of PFC
Serve size Total weight 1508.40
Energy – Cal Total calories 5556.39
Protein – grams Total protein 210.24 0.19
Fat – grams Total fat 383.83 0.34
Carbohydrates – grams Total carbs 536.22 0.47
10. HOW DID WE RECORD THE EXPEDITION?
At all times we both had a waterproof notebook around our necks and an Olympus SW725 shock and waterproof camera as well.
We had two free roaming cameras on board: a Sony SD Handycam and a Sanyo Xacti Waterproof Camera. If there was one regret we had on the Tasman, it was not investing in some HD lipstick cameras built into the hull.
11. MUST-READ BOOKS
If you’re planning a small boat voyage, I think the 10 must-read books
would be:
Alone at Sea, Dr Hannes Lindemann
A Speck on the Sea, William H. Longyard
Captain Bligh and Mr Christian: The Men and the Mutiny, Richard Hough
The Rock Warrior’s Way, Arno Ilgner
Extreme Alpinism, Mark Twight
Lionheart, Jesse Martin
Shackleton’s Boat Journey, F.A. (Frank) Worsley
The Long Way, Bernard Moitessier
Kayak across the Atlantic, Peter Bray
Sailing Alone around the World, Joshua Slocum
For more info, please check out:
www.crossingtheditch.com.au
Acknowledgements
A real special thanks has got to go out to every single person who helped make this dream a reality. Justin and I are the first people to admit we weren’t the best kayakers or adventurers out there…in fact we’re not the best at anything! If it wasn’t for a vast support team spanning 16 different countries, we would still be stuck in Sydney Harbour.
First and foremost, I want to thank Jonesy for an incredible adventure. He’s my best mate and always will be. He kept me alive out there on the Tasman and I’m looking forward to sharing a number of great adventures with him.
Thanks to my family – Mum, Dad, Lil and Clary – for putting up with me through some pretty difficult times, letting us take over the garage for a full year and sorry in advance for the upcoming expeditions…