This was the opening discussion piece on safety equipment and food. It is from an email I sent to all participants. The group elected to do group dinners while each taking responsibility for breakfasts and lunches. Safety equipment went pretty much as described, including a SPOT unit that Alan sent.
Greetings All,
Thanks so much to those of you doing the heavy lifting on this trip, especially Bruce and Kaare. For me this trip starts on July 1, as that's when Lisa and I will be leaving Florida and heading north. Anything I haven't thought of or packed by that time isn't going to go on this trip. So if this bit of planning seems premature to you, it is timely on my end.
Safety: The Saguenay is isolated and far removed from help if we should get into trouble. There is no cell service and settlements are few and far between.
- Scott has offered to bring an expedition sized first aid kit which is great.
- I have a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) that will send out a distress signal in an emergency.
- We can carry VHF radios, but there will be no place to recharge them and there are some Canadian restrictions on their use.
- I will be packing a tow rope on deck.
- I'm wondering if anyone has a SPOT unit? This would also serve as an emergency signal beacon but has the added advantage of being able to send out a daily "I'm OK" signal to a designated email or cell number. If the person receiving the message could then forward it to all of our families, they would know that it is too soon to cash in the life insurance policy. Its just a thought because we will be completely out of touch for seven or eight days.
- This is really cold water territory. Dry suits are recommended and wet suits are a minimum requirement. We got into really hot weather on our trip but still needed the protection from the cold water.
Food: How will we do food? I know we have several cooks with us: Scott, Alan, Robin and myself (did I leave anyone out?).
- DINNERS: We can do an "every man/woman for themselves" routine, break into smaller groups so that two or more people are planning and cooking together, or take turns cooking dinners for the entire group. There are advantages and disadvantages to each option. Also, I don't know if anyone has a particular dietary restriction (on our recent trip Mark had to do a lot of his own cooking for this reason). By my count we need six dinners in all. I'm interested in your feedback on this.
- BREAKFASTS: Because we will need to break camp each morning and will probably want to get on the water at a reasonable hour I would suggest individual or small group planning for this meal. We should try to keep preparation and clean-up time to a minimum. Opinions? We will need seven breakfasts if my count is correct, assuming we make breakfast on the 25th.
- LUNCHES: If I'm having lunch while paddling I would rather bring my own stuff and have a light "snack" type lunch. We will need seven lunches.
Thats all for now,
Don