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Photography
was also a pain. Since I use 35mm SLR equipment, dry storage is
essential-but so is fast access. One morning on the Sea of Cortez,
I had just spotted several whales coming my way, running with
the brisk tidal flow that surges past the midriff islands. My
camera was in a roll-top dry bag bungied on top of the deck bag,
along with a wide-angle zoom and a short telephoto. The longer
lens I figured I'd need was in a small case behind me. I parked
my paddle and pulled both bag and case on top of the spray skirt
while the sound of spouting drew nearer and nearer. I opened the
waterproof case, opened the dry bag, juggled lenses, and that's
when a big fin whale rolled out of the water and blew, headed
straight toward me not 30 feet away. Gee, I guess I didn't need
that long lens after all.
All I could do was hang on to my $2,000 worth of exposed equipment
while the boat rocked in the whale's wake and a fine mist smelling
of chum settled over me. There had to be a better way.
The
solution to all this seemed obvious. When I got home I called
around the country, but no one had anything like what I described,
nor did anyone seem too keen on making something to my order.
That was several years before the first completely waterproof
deck bags became widely available. Now, at last, the idea seems
to have caught on. There are several completely waterproof models
around, and a number of what you might call "sort-of"
waterproof versions-water-resistant bags utilizing zippers that
will keep out most water short of a dumping wave or a dunking.
I've
been using a waterproof deck bag now for five years, with totally
satisfactory results-which is to say, I haven't drowned a camera
yet. My bird book is right there when I need it, along with a
bunch of other things freed from their baggies. I feel better
having my waterproof binoculars and VHF radio away from constant
salt-water exposure.
Un-soggy granola bars are just a bonus.
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