Kamen_rider BHPian



Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Bangalore Posts: 64 Thanked: 788 Times

The preparation



I also knew that almost everything for this trip would have to be imported. Everything would need to be super compact and lightweight to be able to fit into the limited cargo hold of a Kayak; that meant I could not use regular outdoors equipment. Since the choice of the kayak was the key to the success of this trip, I started googling as if I was possessed. Finally I narrowed down to four manufacturers of folding/inflatable/hybrid Kayaks.







The first one was the Canadian made Feathercraft. Extremely high quality watercraft, assembled by fitting a multi-piece aluminum frame inside a durable outer skin. But these came very, very expensive. The starting price was $6,000 for their entry level touring Kayak. And I shuddered to think what the import duties on that would be. But while this was the best money could buy, this also meant I would first need to spend the first year just saving for something like that.







The second one was an American company called Advanced Elements. They specialized in inflatable kayaks which claimed to offer exceptional tracking and stability by use of aluminum parts in the bow/stern and helped by a metal 'backbone' which ran the length of the kayak - meant for aiding straight line tracking. They were reasonably priced too, in the $400-600 range, and from what I saw on youtube and close up pictures, the materials seemed very well made, though the kayaks were made in Asia.











The third and fourth were companies called Sevylor and Sea Eagle. The Sevylor seemed a bit 'Ballooney' and the Sea Kayak seemed to have a very 'slow' shape, more whitewater raft than Kayak. That kind of construction isn't great for long distance touring at all. But I shortlisted them too, and decided to research a bit more before closing in.



As I started calculating approximate costs for other equipment, I realized that the expensive Feathercraft won't make it. It was just too much money. I started veering towards the Advanced Elements as I read mostly glowing reviews by users, and their kayaks were relatively lightweight and packed small. There was this one model called the Advanced Elements Expedition which I zeroed on, and started to devour whatever information I could find on it. After a while, I decided that my Kayak for this trip would be the Advanced Elements Expedition.



With the choice of Kayak behind me (more or less), I trained my focus on other equipment - paddles, flotation device, navigation systems, tent, airpad, camping stove, food, water storage, dry bags etc. As I mentioned earlier, I could not use regular camping equipment because of size and weight constraints, and everything would have to be bought brand new, and imported from the US. Finally, by July 2012, I had a 90% ready list of things to buy. For kayak related gear, I found a website called







As for the Kayak, I chose to get it shipped from











So after I lay out my stuff on the apartment floor in Bangalore, this was the inventory I had, apart from many other small things. For those of you who want to see the list of EVERYTHING I carried on my trip, the attached pdf file (





1) Advanced Elements Expedition Kayak, with aluminum 'backbone' and double action handpump.

2) Ascent paddle with carbon fibre shaft and Cannon paddle as backup. Paddling gloves.

3) Stolquist Drifter personal flotation device. Also got an emergency whistle.

4) Garmin GPSMap 72 - waterproof, submersible and floatable

5) Oakley Radarlock Polarized sunglasses with vented lenses and around-the-head band.

6) Sea to Summit, Maxxon and Seal Line dry bags. And a bag for the backup paddle.

7) Advanced elements Kayak Cart

8) Advanced Elements foldable sail

9) Adidas Jawpaw watershoe with drainage vents

10) Nikon AW100 waterproof and submersible camera with GPS

11) Soto stove (Petrol or Kerosene fuel), with Titanium alloy kettle

12) North Face Asylum Bivy tent (800 grams) with guy lines, footprint, and spare pegs and tent light

13) Thermarest Airpad (mattress)

14) 10 litre MSR Dromedary Waterbag ( an absolute necessity!)

15) Bailing sponge and towing line with climbing grade carabiners.

16) Go Pro with gorilla Pod. 2 x 32 GB SD cards.

17) Extensive first aid kit including vinegar for Jellyfish stings, venom extractor kit, waterproof tagiderm bandaids and loads of other stuff required to patch up deep cuts.

18) REI foldable chair (the only luxury I could manage)

19) Freeze dried food

20) Solar charger with storage battery for all my cellphones and camera.

21) Long range LED Maglite torch with strobe and signal modes. I could not find a saltwater knife so I packed a swiss knife rescue tool in ziplock bags.



By the time I had acquired all this stuff, I still had more than a month to go, so I waited to complete my dry (no, wet) runs in the ocean and see if everything worked ok, and whether I needed to buy anything else.







For most people who have seen someone Kayaking , it would appear that a Kayak is propelled solely by the use of hands. That is only partially true. The arms are there just to grip the paddle - most of the forward propulsion comes from torso rotation, which meant that an expedition paddler should have strong core, back and shoulder muscles. So I knew that I had to begin weight training at least 6 months before the trip. I was always in more than average shape, with regular runs and free hand exercises, but I needed to work on my upper back, core and forearms. I set out to do these isolation exercises on a regular basis, and also working on increasing my aerobic capacities by doing sprint interval training during my runs. I also paddled at every opportunity I got - in May 2012, I also went on a short paddle on the freezing Lake Crescent (Olympic National park, Washington, USA) - the glacial water was unbelievably blue, as if someone had put in drums of dye in it!







The route was another area where I spent a LOT of time on. I scoured every kilometer of the planned route on Google Earth, and marked out planned stops, storing the coordinates and waypoints on Google Earth. I recorded every potential landing sites and points of interest. The plan was to perfect a travel plan on Google Earth, and then export that to my GPS. My dry runs would give me a sense of the speed I could comfortably do in a day, but during the planning stage I assumed a cruising speed based on my experience in lakes.



As I looked at all the equipment around me, it slowly started to sink in. The trip I dreamt about for the last two years was about to roll. There was no turning back.



It was late November, 2012, and I was ready for my first coastal dry run on the Mangalore coast.





Next Episode: First dry run - paddling to St. Mary's island and back! I came back to Bangalore, and settled into the humdrum of my regular corporate life. Well, not exactly regular, because I had a rather fun job, but then everything becomes ordinary if you do it everyday. After a month or so of the daily routine, I started thinking about how to approach planning the mega trip. I knew the first thing I should check off my list is that how much this trip is going to cost, because that would decide the timing. Six months or one year later. This year or the next year. I also knew that the biggest expenditure would the kayak. There was also this small hitch - I could not take a hard shell Kayak for this trip because of transportation issues. It had to be a hybrid - a Kayak which has the tracking (the ability of a kayak to keep a straight line) of a rigid hard shell, but has the convenience of a folding Kayak. Easier said that done, because finding one was as hard as finding common sense on Indian roads.I also knew that almost everything for this trip would have to be imported. Everything would need to be super compact and lightweight to be able to fit into the limited cargo hold of a Kayak; that meant I could not use regular outdoors equipment. Since the choice of the kayak was the key to the success of this trip, I started googling as if I was possessed. Finally I narrowed down to four manufacturers of folding/inflatable/hybrid Kayaks.The first one was the Canadian made Feathercraft. Extremely high quality watercraft, assembled by fitting a multi-piece aluminum frame inside a durable outer skin. But these came very, very expensive. The starting price was $6,000 for their entry level touring Kayak. And I shuddered to think what the import duties on that would be. But while this was the best money could buy, this also meant I would first need to spend the first year just saving for something like that.The second one was an American company called Advanced Elements. They specialized in inflatable kayaks which claimed to offer exceptional tracking and stability by use of aluminum parts in the bow/stern and helped by a metal 'backbone' which ran the length of the kayak - meant for aiding straight line tracking. They were reasonably priced too, in the $400-600 range, and from what I saw on youtube and close up pictures, the materials seemed very well made, though the kayaks were made in Asia.The third and fourth were companies called Sevylor and Sea Eagle. The Sevylor seemed a bit 'Ballooney' and the Sea Kayak seemed to have a very 'slow' shape, more whitewater raft than Kayak. That kind of construction isn't great for long distance touring at all. But I shortlisted them too, and decided to research a bit more before closing in.As I started calculating approximate costs for other equipment, I realized that the expensive Feathercraft won't make it. It was just too much money. I started veering towards the Advanced Elements as I read mostly glowing reviews by users, and their kayaks were relatively lightweight and packed small. There was this one model called the Advanced Elements Expedition which I zeroed on, and started to devour whatever information I could find on it. After a while, I decided that my Kayak for this trip would be the Advanced Elements Expedition.With the choice of Kayak behind me (more or less), I trained my focus on other equipment - paddles, flotation device, navigation systems, tent, airpad, camping stove, food, water storage, dry bags etc. As I mentioned earlier, I could not use regular camping equipment because of size and weight constraints, and everything would have to be bought brand new, and imported from the US. Finally, by July 2012, I had a 90% ready list of things to buy. For kayak related gear, I found a website called www.airkayaks.com , run by an extremely friendly and helpful person named Holly, and I gradually started getting things shipped from the US. What I got air shipped to India was mostly heavy stuff like the kayak cart (for dragging the kayak on dry land), the aluminum 'backbone' (a padded rod which connected the front and back of the Kayak), primary and back-up paddle, foot pump for inflation and some other things, like the sail and some dry bags.As for the Kayak, I chose to get it shipped from www.airkayaks.com to a friend's place in the US, and the plan was to hand carry it back to India on my next US trip in November 2012. When I landed in the US, I went to the REI store (the outdoor enthusiast's candy-land) and bought the GPS, solar electronic charger, stoves, and the flotation vest, all of which I decided to hand carry. On the way back, I was worried that excess baggage would cost me a bomb, but I needn't have worried. I got upgraded to a first class Suite (with Iranian Caviar, no less) for the journey back to India, which meant extra kilos were promptly overlooked with a nice smile and a lounge pass!So after I lay out my stuff on the apartment floor in Bangalore, this was the inventory I had, apart from many other small things. For those of you who want to see the list of EVERYTHING I carried on my trip, the attached pdf file ( prep list.pdf ) has a detailed itemized list.1) Advanced Elements Expedition Kayak, with aluminum 'backbone' and double action handpump.2) Ascent paddle with carbon fibre shaft and Cannon paddle as backup. Paddling gloves.3) Stolquist Drifter personal flotation device. Also got an emergency whistle.4) Garmin GPSMap 72 - waterproof, submersible and floatable5) Oakley Radarlock Polarized sunglasses with vented lenses and around-the-head band.6) Sea to Summit, Maxxon and Seal Line dry bags. And a bag for the backup paddle.7) Advanced elements Kayak Cart8) Advanced Elements foldable sail9) Adidas Jawpaw watershoe with drainage vents10) Nikon AW100 waterproof and submersible camera with GPS11) Soto stove (Petrol or Kerosene fuel), with Titanium alloy kettle12) North Face Asylum Bivy tent (800 grams) with guy lines, footprint, and spare pegs and tent light13) Thermarest Airpad (mattress)14) 10 litre MSR Dromedary Waterbag ( an absolute necessity!)15) Bailing sponge and towing line with climbing grade carabiners.16) Go Pro with gorilla Pod. 2 x 32 GB SD cards.17) Extensive first aid kit including vinegar for Jellyfish stings, venom extractor kit, waterproof tagiderm bandaids and loads of other stuff required to patch up deep cuts.18) REI foldable chair (the only luxury I could manage)19) Freeze dried food20) Solar charger with storage battery for all my cellphones and camera.21) Long range LED Maglite torch with strobe and signal modes. I could not find a saltwater knife so I packed a swiss knife rescue tool in ziplock bags.By the time I had acquired all this stuff, I still had more than a month to go, so I waited to complete my dry (no, wet) runs in the ocean and see if everything worked ok, and whether I needed to buy anything else.For most people who have seen someone Kayaking , it would appear that a Kayak is propelled solely by the use of hands. That is only partially true. The arms are there just to grip the paddle - most of the forward propulsion comes from torso rotation, which meant that an expedition paddler should have strong core, back and shoulder muscles. So I knew that I had to begin weight training at least 6 months before the trip. I was always in more than average shape, with regular runs and free hand exercises, but I needed to work on my upper back, core and forearms. I set out to do these isolation exercises on a regular basis, and also working on increasing my aerobic capacities by doing sprint interval training during my runs. I also paddled at every opportunity I got - in May 2012, I also went on a short paddle on the freezing Lake Crescent (Olympic National park, Washington, USA) - the glacial water was unbelievably blue, as if someone had put in drums of dye in it!The route was another area where I spent a LOT of time on. I scoured every kilometer of the planned route on Google Earth, and marked out planned stops, storing the coordinates and waypoints on Google Earth. I recorded every potential landing sites and points of interest. The plan was to perfect a travel plan on Google Earth, and then export that to my GPS. My dry runs would give me a sense of the speed I could comfortably do in a day, but during the planning stage I assumed a cruising speed based on my experience in lakes.As I looked at all the equipment around me, it slowly started to sink in. The trip I dreamt about for the last two years was about to roll. There was no turning back.It was late November, 2012, and I was ready for my first coastal dry run on the Mangalore coast.First dry run - paddling to St. Mary's island and back! Last edited by Kamen_rider : 23rd March 2013 at 13:04 .