Anone up4 joining SeaGypsy?

[SeaGypsy]

Hi everyone, I am bumping this thread for the 1st time in a few months to update and give newbies a look.
As many are aware my plans were interupted by the recent birth of my daughter. I have also found there are some legal hurdles to overcome about where to build the boat. In Australia building will cost me about double what it would in Philippines; but I pay no excise. If I build in the Philippines the Australian customs and excise decide how much the boat is worth and charge me 50% import duty. This could easily eclipse the cost saving of building elsewhere.
At least I have firmed up on a plan. Some of the earlier posts on this thread helped me come to a design. The plan is now to build in steel, 32 feet, deep chines, retractable centerboard, water ballasted, unstayed mast, junk rigged. The draft of this vessel will permit access to very shallow tidal rivers, unaccessible to most sail or motor boats.
The area of main operation/ retreat is remote northern Australia, where there are a great many of these rivers, in the worlds last great tropical savannah.
I am loosely basing the ideas on some of Dmitry Orlov's work, his essay "A new age of sail" was a major inspiration. Dmitry's boat design is very particularly aimed at future survival situations. I believe that there will soon come a time when the best thing to do will be to get well away from everyone, but for a chosen few.
Most critiques of this idea center on fears of piracy. If one actually researches piracy at sea (sites like noontide) actual attacks are very rare outside of a few areas in the world. Every survival situation has it's risks, my plan is not perfect; just an informed choice.

I am wondering if any other readers/ posters are shifting plans in this direction? I know Newfie is well into it and has just purchased another yacht. Any thoughts?

[timmac]

I will stick to my motorhome mate, and when it run's out of gas I will put a sail on it..

[SeaGypsy]

I had one built from an old caravan built onto an old Isuzu truck; was a real beauty.
For a while I thought of putting together a simple barrel and frame raft and ramp to float the motorhome; never got around to it. Easy enough to drop the tailshaft and bolt it onto a prop shaft to save on duplication of engine requirements.

[timmac]

I had one built from an old caravan built onto an old Isuzu truck; was a real beauty. For a while I thought of putting together a simple barrel and frame raft and ramp to float the motorhome; never got around to it. Easy enough to drop the tailshaft and bolt it onto a prop shaft to save on duplication of engine requirements.

Bingo !!, I think I will draw me up some plans to do mine like this, I wonder if my wife will approve ??

[Newfie]

SG,

It's me back again. Have not taken delivery yet but it looks likely to happen within a month. I'll give details when if/when it does.

Right now there are some pretty good bargains out there. You may want to think about buying a used boat. Might be hard to beat. Up here I know of a 48' Hanna style schooner, steel, overbuilt, but very rough home built finishes. 5'6" draft. Well under $30,000 US. If you have time and talent that gets to be hard to beat.

As to designs, a Presto Sharpie comes to mind. Very shallow draft boats designed or refined in and around Miami for shoal waters.

Also, a great read for anyone interested in survival and doomsteading, yacht or no is Annie Hill "Voyaging on a Small Income." And she is big into sailing dories. Here story is much like yours. Needed something seaworthy with very low investment, unstayed mast, junk rig. She also has a nice web page.

And, I read Sea Steading. Not as technically helpful as I would have liked but it touched my emotions deeply.

Lastly, there were some very interesting conversations over at Cruisers Forum on where to sail WTSHTF. Clearly we are are not the only ones thinking about this.

[pedalling_faster]

it sounds like fun, except for the fact that the last time i went sailing for 4 hours i spent 4 hours being seasick & vomiting.

i'm sure i'm not the only person who's experienced this. i wonder how long it takes to get used to it, without using chemicals like dramamine etc.

[Newfie]

it sounds like fun, except for the fact that the last time i went sailing for 4 hours i spent 4 hours being seasick & vomiting.

i'm sure i'm not the only person who's experienced this. i wonder how long it takes to get used to it, without using chemicals like dramamine etc.

The vast majority adjust within three days. But then get sick again after being on land for a day.

Others appear to build some tolerance to it over the years.

For a small few there is no resolution.

[SeaGypsy]

48 foot is a pretty big boat, very unlikely to be single handed, which is one of my requirements. Thanks for the heads up on reads & cruisers forum.
I have never been seasick, a bit queasy in extreme weather but no more than that. Seems to me that adrenaline overrides seasickness. I like to be in charge on a vessel I am very confident in, or on same with a very surefooted captain. It is not pleasant to be in serious seas with a shaky captain or vessel.

[Newfie]

Sleep it the nemesis of the single hander.

Which means having someone else in charge or figuring out a way to get through.

My boat has an Autopilot (1+2 spare) and wind vane and radar and two kitchen timers.

[Narz]

I've read your posts & you sound like a good dude with a decent head on your shoulders. If I was single with no dependents I would consider it.

[SeaGypsy]

One condition of my marriage was that my wife will "Go anywhere, on any kind of boat I ask." I have yet to really test this aspect of our relationship in a big way. The attitude of utter landlubbers I just never got really. Like I always thought the Jews who decided to stay in Germany after 1938 were crazy. I see a capability for an out as abosolutley essential. I could not stand thinking I am stuck here (anywhere). Dmitry is living and working in Boston. He has kept an ordinariness about the day to day while shifting his life onto a pretty serious little yacht. He practices sailing as often as he gets time off.
That strikes me as clever.

[SeaGypsy]

Sleep it the nemesis of the single hander.

Which means having someone else in charge or figuring out a way to get through.

My boat has an Autopilot (1+2 spare) and wind vane and radar and two kitchen timers.

I don't plan to be doing a lot of ocean crossing. I can get from Philippines/ Australia with no more than a few overnight trips, I intend to be beached or ported most nights. Stll autovane is good to have, to free the hands. I intend to have a small crew, not sail alone, but I want the capability just in case.

[Newfie]

One condition of my marriage was that my wife will "Go anywhere, on any kind of boat I ask." I have yet to really test this aspect of our relationship in a big way. The attitude of utter landlubbers I just never got really. Like I always thought the Jews who decided to stay in Germany after 1938 were crazy. I see a capability for an out as abosolutley essential. I could not stand thinking I am stuck here (anywhere). Dmitry is living and working in Boston. He has kept an ordinariness about the day to day while shifting his life onto a pretty serious little yacht. He practices sailing as often as he gets time off.
That strikes me as clever.

I suspect it was the ones who left early who were "crazy." Remember that "crazy" just means that you are not in line with current thinking.

Kinda like now. People think preppers "crazy." Maybe yes, and maybe no. Time will tell.

[SeaGypsy]

If you can have a contingency plan, enjoy what you are doing in that, as well as keeping some foot in the mainstream; surely this is wiser than being gung ho on one side or the other? Those who are 'hunkering (bunkering) down now may be wasting the best years of their lives for an unknowable timeline risk, even if the risk is a certainty. Those calling these crazy are less than half right IMHO. Anyone who has done any solid research at all knows we are in for a very rough ride this century if we are to even survive. The fact that the techno fix brigade dominates the cloud cuckoo land sheeple is in a way a mixed blessing. On the one hand these are buying the rest of us time to sort out our contingency plans, on the other they will not be out in the wilderness (at sea or land) to compete with those who did decide to try to survive. They will be destitute and lined up at the government breadline.

[Newfie]

If you can have a contingency plan, enjoy what you are doing in that, as well as keeping some foot in the mainstream; surely this is wiser than being gung ho on one side or the other? Those who are 'hunkering (bunkering) down now may be wasting the best years of their lives for an unknowable timeline risk, even if the risk is a certainty. Those calling these crazy are less than half right IMHO. Anyone who has done any solid research at all knows we are in for a very rough ride this century if we are to even survive. The fact that the techno fix brigade dominates the cloud cuckoo land sheeple is in a way a mixed blessing. On the one hand these are buying the rest of us time to sort out our contingency plans, on the other they will not be out in the wilderness (at sea or land) to compete with those who did decide to try to survive. They will be destitute and lined up at the government breadline.

Quite right, especial the part about enjoying what you are doing. I thought "Sea Steading" made that point very well.

[Ibon]

hey SeaGypsy I salute what you are doing. Preparing for that journey is already of value as it gives you a peace of mind that you have your ark prepared. And taking that journey is both a lifestyle and a survival strategy if and when things really start getting crazy. And if your going to get swallowed up in the tide of chaos then why not have it happen while you are doing what you love. And finally being nomadic you are following a tradition of human societies in the past who through their lives to the sea escaping or looking for a refuge. It is cultural natural selection at work.

I am a landlubber myself and have purchased my 400 acres of isolate wilderness where me and my filipina wife will be taking refuge as well as enjoying the creativity of creating own survival strategy. Our daughters are grown ( I mentioned my oldest is at Ateneo in manila and transferring to UP next year) and enter a new chapter. For your interest here is a peak at the site we own in Panama where we will be. If ever you are blown across the pacific and find your self along the pacific coast of panama your always welcome to stop by for a stay........

www.mounttotumas.com

[SeaGypsy]

Nice pad Ibon!
You must have done some serious research to come up with such a spot?
My 2 main stompin' grounds are remote northern Australia and the Philippines. I have a number of options in both areas. I won't be choosing one in any hurry unless push comes to shove. I am well practiced in 'bush tucker' options in the remote north of Australia and am a very proficient fisherman. This part of the world is so underpopulated that skilled people are always in demand.
I find it really interesting how many people think and say "It's all over, we have destroyed the entire planet"; while there are still many places in the world where nature is doing quite well and people are scarce. I think it's the resignation stage in Kubler-Ross scale, not as developed as the stage of 'doing something'.
I know a lot of people just don't have what it takes to get out of their microcosm and have an honest look at the real world. I find it annoying that often these are the same people who accuse me of being blind to reality.
I agree wholeheartedly with your recommendation of doing what you love, even if you die doing so. Far better than lining up at the slaughterhouse of dieoff fate.
The fatalism of many posters is a sad reflection of indoctrination that "We sink or swim together". A belief in society over the individual, when in fact society is composed of individuals. Human population has bottlenecked before and will do so again. Sticking with the masses seems to me to be the most likely way to end up being among those 1st to be culled off.
When a society fails to put 1st the needs of individuals, individuals need to reclaim society. This is not happening in the mainstream, so what choice have we who can see the writing on the wall but to build our own society aside from the one which has subverted our individuality?

[thaicoon]

Hi everybody;

New participant to the site. Have been Peak Oi and 'Peak Everything' aware for a couple of years now. Been a regular on the oildrum and now dipping my toes into this one. I am at the action stage right now. No more hard selling to do on this fella.

When I read seagypsies post and then the link to Dimitri, I flashed on that first film exploration into possible global warming consequences-waterworld. Up until now, my plan has been to go upcountry here in Thailand and dig in there. However, after reading this post and the article, I once more peel away another level of denial. Who am I kidding thinking that I am going to ride it out in a country where basically the people see me as a financial utility. Once that's gone, I'm gone. Besides, China is not too far away, and the IPCC projections for climate change are not kind to the Thai rice producing area.

So, I go back a few squares and roll the dice. I have always been a part time sea gypsie. Who knows, I may graduate to a full time one. Captain, put me on the crew list!!

I am very interested in this and have the skills to do this. Let me roll this around my head and heart a little.

P.S Know some fabulous locales up this way for some Johnny Appleseeding.

[SeaGypsy]

Hi TC, I thought about Thailand a lot, but their visa system is b/s so my Asian base is where I married in the Philippines. Lots more islands too. I will be in PI all of March and April/ maybe longer, next year, starting a couple of projects there. I will be in Singapore a day or 2 each way. PM if you want to catch up. GW floods will take a while, I am more immediately concerned about food/ economic/ political catastrophe; to my mind these are more imminent threats. Nice to have you aboard me hearty!

[zeyang]

Anyhow, I'm still not afloat but have made a lot of preparations to build something special here at my home in the Philippines.
I am still committed to the whole idea of sail based transport being extremely important to personal freedom in coming years.
I wonder is this idea progressing aka Dmitry Orlov's ideas or mine or any other peakers who have decided there is wisdom in sail?

I like your way of thinking, but i would opt for building a sailboat. it will make shape up your skills. but its timeconsuming if you do alone, so better be more people involved. Boatbuilding is not difficult.any guy/girl manage to fix his car and house can do.

here is my project.
-12meter 100 year old design (double ender)
. 20 tonns
- built in alloy (almost to a ice-level class) Will be possible to freeze in.
- junk rig stayed mast.
- just a small engine with pitch prop (not essential)
- hardly any electrics onboard.just to run some minimum stuff.
- space for 6


hopefully finish by end of next year.

if there is anyone interested in joining this coop pls drop me a line (zeyang(at)laowai.no)
steps to be done is sailsewing,upholstry and woodworking. So there is works for both girls and guys.