20 Fathoms La Paz Bluewater World Cup.

It's getting around to that time of year again when 20fathoms.com holds the La Paz Blue water World Cup. This years competition will be held in the usual place, the Mexican fishing village of La Ventana from the 1st to the 5th of July. I am competing again for the 7th year and as usual have already started preparing my gear early because of my work schedule. With a comp like this you first have to look at the species list, then decide what gear will cover the majority of fish on the list. Then comes the hard part, trimming down the gear to the bare minimum so it comes within airline luggage limits. To make sure my gear falls within the luggage limits I try to use the lightest gear possible.
My packing list reads like this.
1 X Sportube containing the following.
4 X Rob Allen railguns in the following sizes, 1mt, 1.2mt, 1.4mt and 1.5mt.
2 X spare 1.5mt shafts.
1 X 30mt bungee.
1 X 30mt float line.
2 X 35lt floats, Inflatable(Riffe 2atm) and solid.
1 X flasher.
4 X throw flashers.
Mask, Snorkel and Fins (spare set of fin blades)
3mm wetsuit.
Weightbelt minus weights (Weights are provided).
Knife.
Belt reel.
Spare 2mm spectra line.
And of course a couple of GoPro cameras.
And looks pretty much like this.

If packed properly this all fits in a series 2 Sportube and comes in at just on 22kg which is spot on the luggage limit for the Airlines I use to fly to the US and Mexico.
In bag No2 I pack.
2 towels,
bathroom kit,
4 Tshirts, 2 board shorts,
Thongs(Flipflops)
small 1st aid kit,
copies of my Passport and air tickets.
A 2mt length of Spare rubber for my guns,
Hat ,sunscreen, power adapter and chargers for phone etc,
Wetsuit lube and my pillow.
Yes I take my pillow, I find it is easier to sleep in hotels and get over any jetlag if you have your own pillow.
All this usually comes in at about 15kg, well under the weight limit but that leaves plenty of room to bring things back without exceeding the limit on the return leg.
Although I am allowed 2 checked in bags at this weight when flying into Los Angeles I am then only allowed 1 checked in bag for the leg to La Paz.
Unfortunately there is no getting around this and I have to pay the extra $50 for the second bag.

I pack my cameras and laptop in my carry on bag. My Passport and tickets stay in my pocket until I reach my destination then they go in a safe.

You are probably wondering why I only pack spare shafts for the longest gun I use, well my rationale is that if I bend a shaft I can use the next size up as a replacement, it saves carying different length spares. I also  carry a length of rubber so I can make up a spare to fit any length gun if I need to. I use the same 2mm spectra cord for spare shooting lines, wishbones and tying rubbers.
The shorter 2 guns dont usually get much use in competition but they are a godsend if I have to hunt Torro and Roosterfish in a dirty shore break. I can also use them outside the comp if I choose to chase reef fish like Pargo.

Steep Point Trip Part 3

Part 3.
After chasing fish around in the shallows for a few hours in the afternoon we headed back to camp to get dry and cleaned up for dinner.

The Girls cooked a wonderful feast of Curried fish, Rice and vegetables with chocolate for desert. We then sat around telling stories for a while before drifting off to bed. In typical Steep Point style the wind howled all night before backing off around sunrise. Jack and I had breakfast and slowly packed up all our gear making sure we left nothing behind. We then refueled the boat and packed all the gear and fish into the boat for the long trip back across Shark Bay to Denham. Right on cue the wind dropped to nothing more than a faint breeze and we set off. First up the channel behind Dirk Hartog Island then through the markers across Bellfin Flats then on into Denham. It was the most pleasant trip I have had home in a long time. We loaded the boat onto the trailer and began the long 9 hour drive back to Perth all the way discussing what we would do for our next trip.