Loading up the kayaksOn our ferry ride from Burgeo to Rose Blanche that started on Tuesday we carried our loaded boats on at Burgeo, off at Grand Bruit. Back on again Wednesday at Grand Bruit and off at Rose Blanche. Then on and off a truck which took us to Harbour le Cou.
The boats weighted a ton. The gangplank onto the ferry Marine Eagle had a high handrail and its awkward position meant the boats had to be lifted high to get clearance. At some point I either tore or sprained both my right bicep and front deltoid muscles. I just moved the wrong way or too suddenly.
I didn't feel it at the start of day 1 but 26 kms paddling brought it to the fore. Starting on the second paddle day it meant Advil to relieve the pain. No sweat, I'd done that before to get a gimpy hip through a 10 mile road race. At least I'd get through the trip.
My Dad would have called carrying the loaded boats a "lazy man's load". That is, making one carry rather than making a few trips. I think the next time I'll only put the light stuff in the boat and carry the rest in bags.
Agree with ya on that one Tony.
ReplyDeleteS.
The way I was taught to deal with gear and kayaks was to never carry a loaded boat unless you can get 4 people on a single and 8 on a double - or more.
ReplyDeleteSo what the school I teach for does is this. All your gear goes in a massive duffel. You pack your boat from the duffel and then put the duffel in your kayak last. When you get where your going, since the duffel was the last thing in the kayak, it is the first thing out. You refill the duffel.
I use a 115 liter boundary bag because it has backpack straps, but a big duffel bag works well too. The only things I will move inside a kayak are paddle/pfd/sprayskirt.
less stress on you, and less on your kayak.
PO
Stan, I can bench and do shoulder presses but can't do chins. Can't even pick up my guitar by the neck. So, paddling is taking a backseat until it gets a bit better. At St. P Thursday evening but just taking it easy.
ReplyDeletePO, I'm going to use a couple of onion sac type bags that can be stuffed into a very small space. Thanks for your comments. Too bad I had to learn the hard way!
Tony :-)
Looks like you guys had a great trip, i haven't been down that way in quite a while.Lets see a trip report on KNL website :-)
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I hope you are feeling better.
Brian