atlas shrugged, ayn rand novel

[bruce in oz]

i was 11kms above the sea this morning jetting to my new one day a week job, looking down upon the clouds thinking about ltuae, ayn rand came to mind, john galt and abandoned railway companies... atlas shrugged

if the global economy failed next month how well would your yacht support your lifestyle away from the masses.

that waterworld movie comes to mind but its a bit extreme for the moment

[anotherT34C]

I try to keep my boat ably stocked at all times to escape to a non-zombie infested island (~2 weeks). My greatest fear is ending up like those poor saps at the end of "Dawn of the Dead". Out of fuel, out of food, and no options but to land on zombie island.

[orion1]

Our boat is at capacity with fuel, water, food and all necessary items for survival for two for two to three months and is kept that way. We have been at this level for the last four months. Scary isn't it!

We have friends on a very remote island where we would go if necessary. We have spoken to them and have an open invitation at any time. They are nearly totally self-sufficient and live a very simple life.

They have been planning for this for several years now.

[Tempest245]

Interesting that you bring this topic up. I have been thinking along those lines....
Can you hold off the collapse until June...?
I'll be retired by then....

I think I need solar power....and I'd be good to go...

[Zach]

I think a lot of us share the same brainwave! You guys would probably enjoy the following pages:

Jerome (jay) Fitzgeralds blog: Sensible Simplicity
He wrote the book Seasteading: A life of Hope and Freedom on the Last Viable Frontier. Which is an excellent read, his main focus is how to live aboard during tough times. (He's big on engineless sailing, and runs Home Page as well... which would be a good skill to know, if one can't obtain/afford fuel.)

To go along with the how to, there is another liveaboard sailing thinker that has pondered and written about what to do if/when things go down...
Dimitry Orlov's blog: ClubOrlov
He wrote the book "Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects."

Buy both books. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Orlovs scared me a good bit, as his well argued point... made a lot of sense, and then things started unfolding, in the order which he put forth. Yikes!

For me, I'm still stuck in the headlights and would rather things delay and go back to normal. My boat isn't seaworthy yet, and I'm not really prepared for a breakdown... been filling up the pantry, and built a greenhouse, but I'm a year away from my boat being part of the picture. At this point, its more drain and less life boat.

Zach - Still formulating a plan...

[Hankthelank]

so what kind of foods are you stocking up on in case the economy does collapse?

also, do you think it's wise at this point in time to invest in a watermaker, or do you think that even if the economy does go south, water will be available?

[delmarrey]

I just luv these doomsday threads. It falls right into my whole ambition in life.

After being in the Navy in Viet Nam I ran off to the wilderness of Alaska for awhile and became homesick for the EZer life of not freezing my ass off.

Then I went to the mountains of Arizona tried panning gold for a while and ended up with a job in Prescott anyway.

THEN I moved to San Diego and bought a sailboat and this is what I've stuck to. There is nothing like being self-sufficient and being able to travel at the same time. The ability to get away from the masses and take all (most) of your possessions with.

And what invading force, at first, is going to come after a few single little slow boats? They will be hitting the populated areas first.

It does seem that a lot of sailboat owners are survivalists.

[Tempest245]

Hankthelank,

Funny, I was just looking at watermakers the other day....$$$$...
I think someone on this site,,had posted plans on how to build one cheaper.

Foods I would stock would have to be non perishable: Rice and Beans come to mind.
I'd want some salt, flour, coffee, tea, bouillon cubes, powdered milk, dried pastas,dried fruit,
next level would be canned goods. Wine, Rum, Gin, and my fishing rods...

Interesting Life! Delmarrey

[opsailor]

Maybe we're not talking self-sufficiency here.... Sounds more like disaster prep. Having a few months food will only delay the inevitable since most of us can't grow our own food, distill diesel, manufacture alkaline batteries or water pumps. Etc Etc

Having funds to buy limited goods and services or being able to barter may be more of a survival strategy.....

[Tempest245]

The thread began with an economic crash. So, yes, I'd be thinking as much self-sufficiency as possible. The ability to anchor out, catch fish, collect shell-fish etc. , make or collect water, and charge ships batteries. I imagine I could get by without alkalines.
Good point about food supplies...Sushi and seaweed?
I imagine I could stretch a full tank of fuel and a reserve container pretty far if I had to.

Where would be a good place to hole up? Warm climate, good growing season..good fishing?

Hmm why wait for a crash...sounds like a good life...haha..

[Maren]

Originally Posted by anotherT34C

I try to keep my boat ably stocked at all times to escape to a non-zombie infested island (~2 weeks). My greatest fear is ending up like those poor saps at the end of "Dawn of the Dead". Out of fuel, out of food, and no options but to land on zombie island.

Is it landing on island full of zombies or the fact the zombies are somehow all deceased track stars?

Anybody read the Zombie Survival Guide

[CAELESTIS]

"Then you will see the rise of the men of the double standard--the men who live by force, yet count on those who live by trade to create the value of their looted money--the men who are the hitchhikers of virtue. In a moral society, these are the criminals, and the statutes are written to protect you against them. But when a society establishes criminals-by-right and looters-by-law--men who use force to seize the wealth of disarmed victims--then money becomes its creators' avenger. Such looters believe it safe to rob defenseless men, once they've passed a law to disarm them. But their loot becomes the magnet for other looters, who get it from them as they got it. Then the race goes, not to the ablest at production, but to those most ruthless at brutality. When force is the standard, the murderer wins over the pickpocket. And then that society vanishes, in a spread of ruins and slaughter.
"Do you wish to know whether that day is coming? Watch money. Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion--when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing--when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors--when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you--when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice--you may know that your society is doomed. Money is so noble a medium that is does not compete with guns and it does not make terms with brutality. It will not permit a country to survive as half-property, half-loot.

[anotherT34C]

I don't think you need to plan to survive indefinitely... just long enough for the worst of the initial violent shock to pass (or most of the zombies to cease functioning).

In most movies I've seen, this seems to take just a few weeks.

Originally Posted by Maren

Anybody read the Zombie Survival Guide

First stop, Wal-Mart. Lots of survival gear, no large windows. It's perfect.

[bruce in oz]

thanks for the links Zach, its a bit of a reality shock to read how bad things are elsewhere.
i was just having a random premonition of doom and a thought about a book i had read decades ago.

i do have an oceangoing yacht, don't have an engine, do have ample solar panels, hand tools, dehydrated food & vegetable seeds, was raised on a farm and enjoy the isolation...

hmm and the home made rum matures nicely too!

[bene505]

Originally Posted by Zach

...been filling up the pantry, and built a greenhouse, but I'm a year away from my boat being part of the picture. At this point, its more drain and less life boat...

You have a greenhouse, nice. Can you post a picture of it?