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Wednesday, July 12, 2017

My two best collapse options



I was having a coffee with a buddy of mine the other day. He asked me where I'd rather be should collapse happen. He lives in a small apartment in the city so has plans for bugging out.

Since I live out in the country and have supplies and a good source of water, being at home is my first choice. That's a no brainer. What did surprise him was my second choice. That would be living on a well stocked sailboat.

That surprises some people and he was no exception. One thing that people don't realize is that the oceans are big, really big. One of the biggest challenges to sailing is actually being found out there if you need help. Once you disappear over the horizon, all bets are off.

There are sailors who's zombie apocalypse plan is sail offshore for a few weeks and see how things settle out. Even sailing just fifty miles off-shore puts you beyond the reach of most powerboats. There are fishing boats equipped for much longer distances, but the ocean is big.

The sailors would monitor their radios to see how things were going. Maybe if too much chaos existed back home, they'd sail to a different country.

Even small shallow draft sailboats can be pretty good options. It's surprising how many uninhabited islands exist in the United States. There are also marshes along the coast that cannot be gotten to by land, yet make handy hiding places for boats.

The United States Coast Guard can't stop all boat traffic. Smugglers get in all the time. Even Haitian refugees come in on small primitive sailboats.

Sailboats have some disadvantages, the first being their relatively slow speeds. Those big white sails are pretty visible for some distance too. Other factors depend on the boat. Is is complicated and need constant work to keep it seaworthy? Does it need to burn fuel to keep everything running?

Rugged simple sailboats, with solar power and rain catchment, can go a long time without support. There is also a long tradition of sailors helping each out. That is so basic to water folk that it will probably still hold for most people in a crisis.

Is the sailboat strategy guaranteed? Of course not, but it's a chance. Sometimes in life that's the best you can hope for.

-Sixbears

14 comments:

  1. Would just go to work for the AMISH. All other plans have too many flaws. Given that the AMISH survive just fine in the zombie appocolypse if their own choosing, we can all just follow their lead.

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    1. The Amish are tied to the modern world almost as much as everyone else. However, they have a very tight community so that's their best advantage.

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  2. Option 2 makes a lot of sense. Carries your domocile and supplies to a (presumably) safer environment. A few weeks and the power boats used run out of gas so a sail boat makes even more sense. Especially makes sense for people who aren't as physicallly mobile as they used to be (i.e. older individuals).

    Maybe a set of sails that are not so visible would be a good idea - is it law that the sails are white for safety visibility ?

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    1. They make sails in a dull brown color called "tanbark." However, white sails in the distance can disappear with clouds in the background.

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  3. Replies
    1. It's much better as an intellectual exercise.

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  4. As always, go well armed, though that would be illegal in many jurisdictions.

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    Replies
    1. That's one of those things you have to weight the pros and cons on.

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  5. Food would be the main problem. Would it be possible to launch out into the unknown with only so much food . . .

    I would take a supply of seeds for sprouting like broccoli sprouts, chia seeds for protein and energy and fiber, and nutritional yeast, salt, and a supply of powdered Vitamin C. These are all light weight and go a long way. I have no boat, no skills, no strength, so will "bug" in with our garden and native weeds and fruit trees. We have food growing in plain site that is not recognizable as food. Even the rose of sharon shrub makes edible pods.

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    1. A diet of fish gets pretty old after a while. It's good to know some edible plants that grow on remote islands.

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  6. Fresh drinking water is the number one difficulty on a sailboat.
    Next to that , vitamins and carbohydrates.
    All doable with equipment and knowledge.

    Of course , this too is my current fall back BOL. If the swamp location out in the woods isn't viable.
    Ideally I'd get a place on the St. John's a bit further north, where I could have a dock in front of the homestead , with the sailboat parked right there heh

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    1. A sailboat on a home dock would be pretty sweet.

      Water is a major concern. Watermakers are nice, but use a lot of energy and have parts that wear out. Big storage tanks, rain catchment and other ways of gathering water are important.

      Even on my small boat, I like to keep at least twice as much water as we plan on needing.

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  7. I had an aunt who lived in a houseboat on the St. John River years ago. She loved it.

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