KIRSTYANDREWS
Sent packing
Kirsty Andrews is away , but she leaves us with these ruminations on the art of packing for a big dive trip
I
have a big trip coming up . And when I say coming up , I mean , I ’ m leaving tomorrow . The excitement ! Now , to pack . The process did start a little while ago : I made a list . Not a sensible ‘ list of everything to pack ’ list , but a ‘ to do ’ list at least . Sensible things like ‘ I should really locate the source of my drysuit dampness ’ or ‘ are my cylinders still O2 clean ’? By today , things are either done or in a state of ‘ oh well ’, such as the drysuit . I ’ m bringing an extra set of thermals anyway , to mitigate the dampness ( something else to pack ).
Other than the list , not much has yet been done . I ’ m not one of those who can sensibly put kit aside for days and weeks beforehand . Oh no . I have to be in the moment , with the heightened tension of an imminent leave date and time to motivate me . Still , this is not my first packing rodeo so no need for a frenzy yet .
A system is key to success here . At one point I did actually have a spreadsheet , and
“ Do you have packing champions in your club ?”
that was quite satisfying but I fear I may have outgrown it . There are significant packing variables such as : warm or cold-water trip , boat diving more-techy-type-stuff or shore diving keep-it-simple-and-lightweight . Then there ’ s non-diving considerations : am I camping or staying somewhere fancy ( unlikely but still possible ); is this a full-on camera geekery indulgence trip ( yes it is , hurrah , get charging 50 batteries and polishing scratches from dome ports ) or am I going minimalist on the camera front ( my version of minimalist on this point is not the same as yours , probably ).
Am I travelling in my own vehicle ( chuck everything in ) or burdening another ’ s ? Will I be far from civilization and need to take a lot of redundancies just in case ? There ’ s definitely a level of sparestaking which is prudent and a level which is ‘ you might as well just bring an extra person and have done with it ’.
At the height of a diving summer my kit barely has time to dry out or be put away ; a tad unsightly for visitors but handy for packing , at least . This time it ’ s been a while and everything had been stashed . I do look enviously at those with voluminous garages , outbuildings and other worthy kit stores : mine is secreted in various hidey-holes in my non-palatial accommodations , which makes reconstruction of the necessary items at packing time more complicated .
Do you have packing champions in your club ? There are certainly those who seem to call all the required items to hand effortlessly . There ’ s always one reliable teammate ( thank goodness ) who has thought to include the spare tool / item / ingredient that no-one else thought of but has suddenly become essential . I aspire to be that person one day . And a teambased approach is sensible , or you could end up between you with six adjustable spanners and no bungee - perish the thought . Although that level of coordination does require foreplanning so , maybe next trip .
I should probably start packing now . Or I could procrastinate by doing other things , such as , writing a diving column about packing … �
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