The biggest obstacle of the last few days has been getting through the vast ammount of to-do points on our checklist. The logistics of doing an event like this have really taken me by suprise, and I thought I should share the pain…
Have a look at the gear we’re taking laid out in my room prior to packing (in the photo below).
The contents of the boat prior to setting off from the UK
As we’ve cut down the ammount of stuff to the bear essentials each piece of the puzzle is absolutely crucial; I’ve become paranoid. I’ve checked, counted, re-checked and re-counted each item as it’s gone into my swallow-all duffel bag.
Even with all the gear we’ll be taking out with us significant elements still remain to be picked up in Calgary (thanks Dad!) or in Whitehorse, such as purification tablets and energy drinks (for which read food for the entire race…).
I mentioned yesterday that we’ve had a really awesome response from friends, family and colleagues. If you’ve wished us well then thank you; it’s great to have so many people rooting for us.
If I said I had a thing about bubble wrap, would you believe me?
Whilst packing I’ve picked up the task of sorting out the paddles so that they don’t get damaged by the luggage handling in the UK or Canada. I’m making no assumptions, but I’ve labeled it fairly clearly as FRAGILE..
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