Keeping Things Dry, Like They Should...

 When you spend a lot of time on the water, you need as many waterproof gadgets, bags, containers as you can come by because some things just can't be replaced all the time, and sometimes you just want to keep things dry. Whether it's towels and clothes, food, electronics, books, camping gear, whatever... it's nice to have some reliable gear to keep it dry.

 I am always making sure my kids know how to recover from capsizing in these little sunfish sailboats. It's a very important lesson and someone has to the teach them ;) It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm the weak sailor in the family. {please tell me you're getting all that sarcasm in there} You won't see daddy capsizing unless he's going out of his way to do so. Regardless, it's a good lesson for them them learn. But man did I put my waterproofing to the test yesterday. I had my nice Nikon camera on board with me and my smartphone (that costs more down here on the island than I care to share with you all--it was a Mother's Day surprise or I probably wouldn't have it!).

My camera was bundled up securely inside this SEAL Line Baja Bag 10L. One key tip on these kinds of bags that we see people make the mistake on quite often is that you have to fold the first fold of the top black seal to black seal (like the photo in the collage in the top right corner). If you don't, then you aren't really sealing it and water may leak in. You want to compress most of the air out of it then fold it black seal to black seal, then roll it down a few more times before clipping it at the top. Now, when you're packing items in these and then putting them inside a tight cockpit on a kayak or something small like that, then you want to squeeze out all the air you can and squish it down as compact as possible. 

Check often for tears in the seams or on the bag itself. Most of ours get damaged from rocks puncturing tiny holes in them. The shoreline of the Bahamas is made of very sharp and jagged limestone, so when you pull up to a beach and gently toss your bags up on the shore, it only takes one little sharp point to stab a hole in the bag. Once it gets that initial hole, it spreads and rips pretty easily, and of course leaks. You can see from above that we have a lot of these bags, they are our preferred brand and size. The 10L & 20L are the best ones for the kayaks, anything bigger is too big, and anything smaller doesn't really give you that much space to store things in anyway. My big DSLR camera fits great, with room for a soft cloth cushion around it in the 10L size. 

  Also being put to the test with my capsizing yesterday was this Pelican 1060 Micro Case Series. I had my smartphone and money inside the case. We like this size case because it fits the smartphones, as well as other little items, keys, cash, chapstick... things you want to keep handy throughout the day. These cases are great, but when they get really old and the powerful seal gets worn, they do leak, so keep a close eye on them, just like the bags.  It is also a good idea to always check the seal for tiny foreign items like sand and dirt, and it never hurts to actually take the soft rubbery inside completely out and clean it properly after it has been in the wild for a long time.

 These items were all submerged in a couple feet of water for a few minutes. I corrected the boat, but it swung right back over and flipped again on me. At this point, my 7 year old was getting a bit annoyed with me, I think, and decided to go jump in daddy's boat for the tow back to shore. I don't blame him. I would have too, if I could. Ah, the joys of being a grown-up.

Needless to say, I checked my valuables as soon as I could to make sure they were dry, and I was very pleased... not a drop inside either the bag of the case! Product approval :) 

 We were not paid or solicited for any of the information provided here. If you click on the links above for the individual items, it will take you to the items through Amazon Smile for the Exuma Foundation, a non-profit organization here on the island that helps the community in a BIG way. Portions of your purchase through Amazon Smile would go to support their organization.

Thanks for following :)