Things to get while in America

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by makobuilders

How about some small 1 or 2 kw portable gas gensets to sell?

Might not fit in the overhead locker on the return flight to the boat...

Jim

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by makobuilders

How about some small 1 or 2 kw portable gas gensets to sell?

Just don't. It would be deemed smuggling, and treated with either deportation, or possibly confiscation of vessel and jail. It would be flagrant ignoring of local laws. Last time we saw this was with rum in the Solomon Is., and the guy was deported, did not lose his boat, but the law is there to confiscate the boat, so beware.

There is another issue as well. Perhaps 2k2 gas gensets are a pittance to you, but for the cruisers who come afterwards, not the kinds of gifts they can give. Leave a clean wake, please.

Ann

[carstenb]

I really like the idea of soccer balls - they don't cost all that much (amaz0n $5-8 bucks) and you really only need to give one per village.

I guess you have to also give them a pump?

[Hudson Force]

Like many others, I have a number of T-shirts and hats with pictures, logos, or lettering of places where I've traveled. Some years back I began gathering T-shirts and hats from my Florida home port to take as trade or gift items while away. I have a gorra from Cadiz where a friend has my Jacksonville Jaguars hat. There's a man in Ireland with a "Florida Fishing College" shirt. These are just fun trades,- not like I'm offering anything of value.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Just putting this out there, as it seems perhaps a bit over the top. But for folks, or a gent who does you a real favor, what about a Leatherman? Not a fancy one, but handy regardless. And I'd imagine that if you wanted to, you could buy'em in bulk to get a good price.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by makobuilders

How about some small 1 or 2 kw portable gas gensets to sell?

The OP said he is heading south to the Pacific Islands. Not much of a market there for US 110V gensets.

[john61ct]

The OP topic was "stuff for me, hard to get while away" and now we're talking goods for resale and gifting cheap footballs!

[theway]

Originally Posted by john61ct

The OP topic was "stuff for me, hard to get while away" and now we're talking goods for resale and gifting cheap footballs!

Haha, yeah it did kind of drift to a gift topic but still enlightening.

Probably the main thing I was looking to hear was those moments of "Damn I should have got that at the last big port" or similar "Damn I sure am glad I DID get that at the last big port"

It doesn't have to be particular to the South Pacific but if there are specific things that are nice to have there and hard to get there, it would be nice to hear about those experiences.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by theway

I think that might be it... I am going single handed and I'm a pretty simple guy. Mostly wanted to hear about others experiences at that moment when they realized they missed something they could have acquired in a US port. The world is a smaller place now and much is to be had anywhere in the world really. But you definitely enlightened me to bring more things for giving. Thanks!!!

(I don't talked to many folks here that cruise so part of this is just to talk through the things I already know and possibly spark something I overlooked that maybe concealed by being obvious).

OK...when I crossed the atlantic...a few days out we realized we had no ziploc bags or plastic bags of any sort. As soon as you have none, you realize how handy they are.

On that same trip, salt water got into all our flashlights, including a million candle power spotlight...and they all failed. After only a few days at sea we had only one working flashlight...and I can tell you truthfully, lives were almost lost over it. It was a cheap, single AA LED I bought cheap (like $3cdn) on ebay. When I got home I bought a dozen more. They also make great gifts, especially at night!

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by theway

Haha, yeah it did kind of drift to a gift topic but still enlightening.

Probably the main thing I was looking to hear was those moments of "Damn I should have got that at the last big port" or similar "Damn I sure am glad I DID get that at the last big port"

It doesn't have to be particular to the South Pacific but if there are specific things that are nice to have there and hard to get there, it would be nice to hear about those experiences.

'Must haves ' are a very personal thing.

My two are Branston Pickle and Bolsts Hot Curry Powder.... neither can be found in mainland South America or polynesia..

Its the little things you will miss.....

[Stu Jackson]

Maine Sail's butyl tape. Best stuff around. Far superior to anything else.

[theway]

Originally Posted by hamburking

OK...when I crossed the atlantic...a few days out we realized we had no ziploc bags or plastic bags of any sort. As soon as you have none, you realize how handy they are.



On that same trip, salt water got into all our flashlights, including a million candle power spotlight...and they all failed. After only a few days at sea we had only one working flashlight...and I can tell you truthfully, lives were almost lost over it. It was a cheap, single AA LED I bought cheap (like $3cdn) on ebay. When I got home I bought a dozen more. They also make great gifts, especially at night!

Both interesting, I can definitely relate to the importance of illumination at night.

[theway]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

'Must haves ' are a very personal thing.



My two are Branston Pickle and Bolsts Hot Curry Powder.... neither can be found in mainland South America or polynesia..



Its the little things you will miss.....

Yeah definitely personal, but I like learning from others "personal" preferences. And also just interesting information about my fellow humans.

Like how important sunglasses are to me now. my first attempt from California to Hawaii I didn't take a single pair of sunglasses. I think that contributed a lot to my seasickness and ultimately having to return to California.

I usually don't wear them and haven't most of my life on or off the boat, but now they are pretty important and luckily available in most countries. Then talking with people later they say... "Of course you need sunglasses!" but it just wasn't something I could relate to at the time.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by hamburking

OK...when I crossed the atlantic...a few days out we realized we had no ziploc bags or plastic bags of any sort. As soon as you have none, you realize how handy they are.

On that same trip, salt water got into all our flashlights, including a million candle power spotlight...and they all failed. After only a few days at sea we had only one working flashlight...and I can tell you truthfully, lives were almost lost over it. It was a cheap, single AA LED I bought cheap (like $3cdn) on ebay. When I got home I bought a dozen more. They also make great gifts, especially at night!

Ziplocs are HUGE, and perfect for preserving cheap hardware like flashlights in a marine environment.

You can even get large ones to store seasonal clothes, extra blankets etc.

[theway]

I wanted to follow up with a few things I'm glad I had and things I could have gotten more of...

I'm glad I brought...
1: Clamps, basically a variety of oversized clothes pins. Ones you'd fine in the tool department. Really handy for a single hander. Used to hold blankets for drying, hold sun shades up, hold bags in place in the cabin, etc.

Wish I'd brought more of...
1: Towels, the beach towels i saw in French Polynesia were $28-$38 US. Most other towels came in sets and were around the same price for 2, but were small and thin. In American Samoa $8-$14 will get you a decent beach towel, and $6-$8 for a decent single bath towel. (Prices in American Samoa are similar to mainland US and even cheaper for some things... some things are far cheaper than Hawaii)

2: Granola bars, the French ones are pretty nasty in flavor and texture. Some taste like a cleaning product might or really dull. Others just crumble and aren't really granola at all but the little cheap crisps attempted to be stuck together, but don't even come close. They have some decent ones I think, but definitely more expensive... I'd have paid more if I knew at the time. Again here in AS they have the US mainland boxes at a mainland price (or close) Cost-U-less, kind of like a small Costco... I'm leaving with about 450 bars

3: Marlin Jerky, this is probably really specific to Hawaii, but I'm not sure many other places in the world have it. I left with a lot, but more would have been nice.