Crossing the Ditch Team iron out problems

by James and Justin/Crossing the Ditch on 29 Apr 2007 In late 2007, James Castrission and Justin Jones will kayak 2200km across the Tasman Sea, from Australia to New Zealand. They will be leaving from The Australian National Maritine Museum, Cockle Bay. If successful, it will be the first ever crossing and the longest two man kayak expedition ever undertaken.

Here is the latest update on their progress.

Most of our time over the past five weeks have been spent with our designer from the UK testing the kayak, making modifications and then retesting the kayak again.

What's been happening boys?

Rob Feloy came over about five wks ago to examine the kayak from head to tail and make recommendations as to how we could address the issues we were experiencing offshore. The first few days basically involved us heading down to the water and letting Rob see first hand what was happening out there.

We identified these as the main issues: Trim (Lot 41 was too heavily weighted in the bow), Ballast, Rudder size.

We have taken the following actions to remedy these issues: Redistributed the provisions in the kayak. Removed the majority of the ballast and improved the stability of Lot 41 by widening the beam of the kayak- this has also allowed us to remove the weighted skeg and made a couple of different rudder sizes and tested them in various conditions which enabled us to identify the optimal shape and size. Lot 41 is now sitting on the designated water line. She's also now paddling the way she is meant to. Enormous thanks to Rob who has come over, away from his family and friends to be surrounded by bloody Aussies for five weeks!

Keep an eye on the website for more details...

Sea Miles

James has been taken on by Pacific Yacht Deliveries to sail a 40 foot yacht from Brisbane to the Philippines. He's leaving on May 2 and will be away for 5 wks. It is a fantastic opportunity for him to get out and live on the water for a few weeks. It will be invaluable experience to learn skills of living at sea in a larger vessel before taking on the Tasman later this year in Lot 41. Please contact Justin for all enquiries regarding Crossing the Ditch.

The guys at Pacific Sailing School have been incredibly supportive in teaching us how to sail.

Where to Now?

When James gets back from the Philippines we'll hear all about his time away. Also, we will have put a short promo together of the Crossing the Ditch story so far, training will have ramped up again and some other adjustments will have been made to Lot 41 to further refine her performance. Stay tuned...

Check out our website for updates...

web: http://www.crossingtheditch.com.au

James & Justin
Crossing the Ditch