In UK trialing my packing for 12 months.

Travelling to the UK via Japan, we had a stopover in Tokyo staying at the Hotel Nikko Narita Airport. Travelling Japan Airlines, the accommodation, evening meal & breakfast is all included in the ticket and this has been my preference going backwards & forwards for all the training sessions.
3.30am on Friday July 8 we both awoke to an earth tremor - it was quite an experience laying there, holding on thinking to yourself "I'm not on the boat yet -  why is everything moving?".I reckon it lasted about 90 seconds with the tremor moving away with a rumble. Eventually peace & quiet returned with no dramas, no alarms, just go back to sleep as if nothing happened.
Arrived in London on time, weather good, traffic as normal. Our friend Christine had battled to get to the airport for over two hours, where the journey normally takes about 1 hour. Aparently the M25 was a carpark. 
I had left all my gear at Christine's place since my last training session at the end of May. I needed to add a couple more items to make it complete for my 12 month challenge. Deck sandals, mouthguard, vacuum packing bags & extra socks were needed. A morning shopping in Guilford saw this mission completed with coffee & apple studel a bonus for our efforts.
The photo shows the gear that I will take for the 12 months. I have compiled my gear based on the Clipper guide and feedback from various skippers, who have more experience than me on what is required for an around the world voyage, plus my experiences on the training to date.
I reckon the secret is to put all of the categories of gear into vacuum bags, then take the air out so that you can fit so much more in.!
Bottom to Top:
Pair of deck boots.
Pair of deck shoes.
Pair of deck sandals.
8 pairs of socks.
6 undies.
4 sets of top & bottom thermals.
4 T shirts.
2 pairs of waterproof padded shorts.
I set of midlayers, sappolettes & jacket.
3 chamois towels.
2 pairs of gloves one with & one without fingers.
2 thermal beanies.
2 neck warmers.
1 neck & hat combo.
1 set of  top layer oilskins top & bottom. [not shown in photo]
2 shirts with collar for shore use.
1 pair of long trousers with belt for shore use.
1 Minnie Mouse [well travelled mascot who wants to travel the world on a yacht]
A camera bag with Lumix LT3 camera, various cables & Apple nano Ipod with images & music.
2 head torches. [both with red & white illumination]
goggles.
mouthguard.
wallet /watch/mobile phone/ digital voice recorder.
sailing knife.
To help celebrate the crossing of the equator (twice) various small koalas, tattoos, balloons etc.
A water proof bag for the above gear.
A water proof " Ocean Sleepware " sleeping bag with pillow & sheet liner.
I travel down to Gosport on 12/7/11  with all the gear and will continue to assess what I need. On completion of the Level 4 training on 19/7/11 I still have time to change things before I join the yacht on the 22nd before departure on the 31st.
The vacuum bags are definitely the secret and they also double as waterproof bags to combat condensation, wet sails & general leakage. Talk to you again soon.
Barry Moore (BAMO).