Hey, What’s in Your Bag?
Different skippers and crews have different beliefs about what and how much gear should be brought onboard for a race. Here, I’m going to talk about a typical windward / leeward racing on a keel boat and what I put in my gear bag on any given day.
Overall, I try to keep the gear as light as possible. But, I also want to know that I have enough with me to feel prepared and have a comfortable day of racing. When I first started racing, I found myself getting to the boat with a heavier and heavier bag as I found more things that it would be “good to have” on the boat. I have learned how to scale back over time. Although, I am still sometimes guilty of having as much stuff clipped to the outside of my bag as I have inside it.
For the most part during the summer, I don’t take much stuff to the boat. Depending on the number of races in a day and the format, I’ve been known to show up with just my shoes, gloves, and car keys. Sometimes, I leave the flip flops at the dock and just use a carabiner to attach my keys somwhere below so that I will be able to find them when we get back.
If I’m going out for a day of racing and want to be a bit more prepared, I’ll bring a light or medium weight backpack with the right base layers (if it’s cooler) or bathing suit (if it’s a hot day) and foulies if the forecast calls for it. I also include some other things in my bag – just in case I need them. Here are some of the things I bring:
Sunblock — Skin cancer is real and it’s scary. I figure that the more I protect myself now, the more time I can spend on the water later. I’m also really fair skinned and susceptible to painful sunburn — so bring on the sunblock.
Chap Stick — The blue kind from Blistex. It’s the best stuff I’ve found and feels like moisture is just being sucked into your lips. If you try it, you’ll know what I mean.
Snack Bar — I usually bring Clif Bars because they don’t have chocolate on them so they won’t melt or get destroyed in my bag.
Leatherman — It’s in my bag if I haven’t already put it on my belt.
Spare Gloves — It’s really easy to destroy a pair of gloves (or at least a finger or two) if a halyard or sheet runs quickly through your hands. I remember one of my early days in pit on a Farr 30. I looked down at the deck and wondered what all that black dust was. Then, I realized that it was the finger of my glove that had just been shredded in a spinnaker take down. So, it’s nice to have a spare pair of gloves to use or loan to a crew member who needs them.
Waterproof Notebook & Drafting Pencil — I use this to keep track of how many turns we’ve put on the shrouds and forestay / backstay for tuning the rig. I also use it to keep track of lifts and headers by the numbers (more on this in a later post). I use a drafting pencil because it’s mechanical and doesn’t need sharpened. Also, a drafting specific pencil assembly retracts. This way, the point (both the metal part and the lead) is back in the pencil body when I’m not writing. So, it doesn’t poke me in the leg when it’s in my pocket.
Colored Tape — I find that electrical tape from the hardware store is cheaper than the vinyl tape from a marine specific store. I use the white to wrap wire tires or pins and rings. This secures the pins and rings so that they don’t work free and prevents things from getting snagged or chafed on a rough surface. I use the colored tape to mark the lines and deck as reference marks to know when I have the halyard all the way up or other lines tuned for a particular sailing condition.
Sailing Instructions, Polars, Tide Tables — It’s always good to be prepared. On more than one occasion, I’ve gotten to the boat and the skipper or another crew member has forgotten or lost the SIs. If you’ve got the necessary race info easily available; it makes you a more valuable crew member.
Hair brush and extra pony tail holders — OK, I like my hair to be long, but don’t like it to get tangled or blow in my face. Enough said about that.
If it’s a long race I also bring baby wipes or those wet cleansing towlettes. You can use them to get cleaned up after a race. Or, if it’s hot, put them in the cooler. It will give you a quick cool down mid or post race.
Are there any other things you consider to be “must haves” in your race bag? If so, let me know what you include. I have also posted a few links below in caes you’re interested in looking up any of the items I mentioned. Happy Racing!