What works 100% of the time, well yes, success reinforces success. Mistakes, if you survive them, are good lessons too. Lessons learned from mistakes, mistakes made during desparate times, these lessons are hard learned, creating the deeper creases in the grey matter, likely not to forget them. One would think.
But alas, we do forget them. TheJuice (aka Druce) and I, we have so many expedition races under our belts; trekking in frezzing cold water (whole valleys under water in torrential rain) in Scotland, crawling through jungle-like vegatation in Chile (hospitalization required from the cuts and contusions from the bush whacking), paddling in 28 foot ocean swells in the Pacific O (and loving it), and on and on, we've made so many, many mistakes. Mistakes we made years ago, lessons we thought we learned from, we find start to re-cycle into our program. And then we are left with, "I thought we learned not to do this again". And of course, we laugh at ourselves.
I think the reason for this is; the mind does forget the pain, wants to remember the good times. This axiom is obvious since all of us do keep returning to the Everglades Challenge over and over. You'd think we'd learn, but no we don't. How soon we forget the pain.
So Toby, I think you're right, it is lessons of what worked, which are the best lessons after all.
Here are just a few things that Druce and I would be happy with 100% of the time during any EC:
1. Under the deck neeting for quick access to accessories (head gear, head lamp, etc), and food.
2. Also stowed in the under the deck netting; a triple use 1.5 liter bottle (cap on, bottom cut off). This no-bottom bottle serves as a pee bottle, back up bailing device should the electric bilge pump fail, and a solid wall storage unit for the initial 'Subway' and then later 'Cubano Cafe' sandwiches.
3. An in-front-of-our-feet dry bag for changing out clothing as need be and other accessories that don't fit in the under the deck netting.
4. I sit in the front of our triple kayak. This year, I took out my foot pegs. With some addition foam up again the bulkhead, my dry bag with my change-out clothing became my foot rest. It is a good foot rest, I can brace, we can still do rolls, but my feet never felt better.
5. Fuel and hydration: I keep a timepiece on my deck. A quick glance and I can see the time without pausing my stroke. TheJuice and I eat and hydrate every half hour on the half hour. We drink only water. Hourly we have some electrolyte capsules. Our food is comprised of sandwhiches, nuts, and dried fruit.
6. Huge advantage for us as a tandem team: While on the water, our boat never stops moving forward. Every half hour we eat and hydrate. I stow my paddle and take care of business. Then I resume paddling while Druce takes care of himself. Total time for each of us is about 2 to 2.5 minutes. So, in other words, every half hour we are taking a break; fueling, hydrating, and resting our arms and shoulders, and all-the-while our boat continues to move forward.
7. Strive to avoid tidal disadvantage; never force forward movement against extreme tidal current, instead stop, eat a meal, and get at least one REM period of sleep.
8. Strive to gain tidal advantage; tidal love we call it, make every effort to be at strategic locations on time to go with the tidal flow.
9. At each stop stretch; stretch arms, low back, thighs, calves, shoulders, neck. While standing; lower the upper torso, drape the neck, move the head in circles, drage the arms, move the arms in circles, relax, relax, relax, feel good about picking up and swinging that paddle again.
10. We take a break once in awhile, stopping for say, 20 minutes. We eat, stretch, pace and talk strategy. In the middle of a 40 mile transit, this is not going to result in a slower average speed, in fact it may well enhance our average speed, certainly if we feel better about the next 20 miles.
11. We change our stroke often. Sometimes paddling '3 strokes and pausing', '3 strokes and pausing', etc, etc. On the pause, drop the arms, even to the deck and coaming, relax. Three good strokes and a pause are better than four poor strokes. By Day 3, this is a good stroke to use on occasion. We find the boat speed actually picks up. Sometimes we want to deliberately keep the boat speed up, as in when striving to make that tital love appointment. So we adopt; '4 high, 4 low'. Four high strokes, breathing and pulling for power, followed by four low strokes, breathing and pulling to recover; '4 high, 4 low', over and over.
Anyway, just some of the things we'll always do.
