Bugout on Yacht

The place to talk about personal defense, preparedness, and survival; both armed and unarmed.
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D5CAV
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Bugout on Yacht

Post by D5CAV »

On another thread someone speculated on escaping in a yacht.

I joined the US Army and not the US Navy, because I prefer the dangers of dirt over the dangers of water, so I don't have much experience in this realm. Here's someone who did it FWIW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk83N2u1ZmY

10 years with a hot Swedish girl sounds good.

Cruising 83,000 miles of ocean on a 53 foot boat? "No bueno" for me.

I have a good friend who was a SWO in the USN. He was XO on a frigate. He told me about some times he was sure he was going to die, and it wasn't from enemy action.

Yeah, there's a reason the USN doesn't consider any ship less than 200 feet to be ocean going. They give those to the USCG and tell them to stick to lakes.
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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HTRN
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Re: Bugout on Yacht

Post by HTRN »

D5CAV wrote: Sat Mar 19, 2022 4:13 am Cruising 83,000 miles of ocean on a 53 foot boat? "No bueno" for me.

I have a good friend who was a SWO in the USN. He was XO on a frigate. He told me about some times he was sure he was going to die, and it wasn't from enemy action.

Yeah, there's a reason the USN doesn't consider any ship less than 200 feet to be ocean going. They give those to the USCG and tell them to stick to lakes.
Sailing to the Azores in a "small"(still talking a 30 foot plus sailboat) sloop is fairly common. The key seems to be the approach, and the timing - taking the northern approach late in the year is what is known as "self correcting stupidity".
HTRN, I would tell you that you are an evil fucker, but you probably get that a lot ~ Netpackrat

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Netpackrat
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Re: Bugout on Yacht

Post by Netpackrat »

Yeah, I have been watching Delos videos for years; I knew exactly who you were talking about without needing to click on the link. There's plenty of dependable blue water capable sailboats starting just under the 30 foot range, and in fact you probably don't want to go much bigger than that 53' Super Maramu (Delos) unless you are sailing with a full crew to help you out. The Super Maramu is maybe even a bit of an exception in that size range because it was designed specifically to be sailed by a couple and it has a lot of built in safety features and things like power winches, power furling, etc. to make that more feasible. At that size range the electric winches are just about a necessity. A smaller boat has smaller sails that are more easily managed using manual (read: more reliable) winches, such that the lady of the boat can still handle it herself if the man is off watch, incapacitated, whatever.

The episode where they were crossing the Indian the first time was a bit of an eye opener. They got hit by weather as they approached Madagascar from the east... They could have easily avoided the brunt of it by altering course to the north, but that would have put them on the coast of Somalia which is a no-go (or at least it was at that time) for a sailing yacht. Fortunately that was when Brian still had his brother (and their girlfriends, and another couple) on board so they had a fairly large crew. Even at that they shut the companionway hatch and the two brothers took 1/2 hour shifts hand steering down the huge waves with everyone else hiding out below. No sails up except just a small sliver of jib to help them stay straight and moving in the right direction. Probably would have been a good situation to deploy a drogue but I don't think they carry one.

I read a book on "storm proofing" for yachties, and one of the points the guy made was if you can manage to plan your itinerary so that you don't get caught in the wrong ocean during the wrong season, you will be relatively safe from most of the major storms.
Cognosce teipsum et disce pati

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Vonz90
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Re: Bugout on Yacht

Post by Vonz90 »

I was a SWO, I did some ocean going sailing and my undergraduate degree is Naval Architecture.*

Sailboats have an inherent advantage over most motor vessels when it comes to sea keeping and stability (two related but different things) because they made inherently stable (center of gravity is lower than center of buoyancy). The ride might be very rough but as long as nothing breaks and you don't make mistakes sailing it you can go through almost anything in an ocean going sailboat; but it probably will not be fun.

US Frigates are the smallest warships intended to stay with a battle group, so they sacrifice some things for speed. That means they are relatively narrow for their length and not good sea keepers as a result. I never served on one but did a deployment with one in the same squadron when I was on a DD. Yeah, they bounce all over the place even in moderate seas.

*-I have never actually worked in that field and have been doing mostly electrical engineering related stuff for the last 12 years, funny world.
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Combat Controller
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Re: Bugout on Yacht

Post by Combat Controller »

I guess it depends on what you are bugging out from. Hurricane probably not...
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Netpackrat
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Re: Bugout on Yacht

Post by Netpackrat »

If you have a boat anchored off some island, you are a lot more able to bug out from a hurricane than somebody who is just stuck on the island. Better to be someplace else entirely during that season.
Cognosce teipsum et disce pati

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g-man
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Re: Bugout on Yacht

Post by g-man »

Combat Controller wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 6:37 pm I guess it depends on what you are bugging out from. Hurricane probably not...
That’s the double-edged sword of a “grid down” setup on a boat: normally, you’d have plenty of forewarning, and could haul anchor and haul ass to be somewhere else. However, if the wheels fall off the bus, who’s to say the websites compiling wind and weather data from hundreds of miles away are up and available? At which point you get the Hurricane warning at the same time as said people on the island. With onboard radar you might get a little more notice, but I’m not trying to outrun or dodge a hurricane that’s already on my boat’s radar… I’d prefer a couple days head start. Just sayin. Now you could just play the standard odds and migrate to somewhere away from the average annual hurricane path set, but that puts you in slightly less idyllic anchorages waiting to see if Mother Nature is gonna smite everybody or not.

Also, the logistics of resupply when cargo boats stop making their rounds to the islands gets sorta dodgy at best. If I hit the megabucks I’d still probably kit out something like a Leopard 50 with as many months of canned food as I could stow in the storage holds, and park it near my in-laws in FL. As an “in case shit” option, and to disappear on for as long as I’d like (read: as long as SWMBO would tolerate). But that’s of course living in fantasy world. Currently we live in bizarro-world, where men win women’s trophies, even though the Army has to acknowledge (without formally acknowledging) that they had to bifurcate the PT standards lest they fail out the majority of women.

Until fantasyland arrives, guess I’ll just keep improving the foxhole I’m in.

Any chance there’s a petroleum company board in need of an actually useful, not addicted to hookers and blow, but not quite so connected as Hunter board member? Asking for a friend…
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
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randy
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Re: Bugout on Yacht

Post by randy »

who’s to say the websites compiling wind and weather data from hundreds of miles away are up and available?
Not arguing against your overall point, but you can download WX data directly from the sats and over HF using a basic Ham radio and a soundcard interface to your computer. The Winlink system is heavily used by sailors for WX and "flight following" for instance.

There's also a the Hurricane Watch Net. And there is a daily Maritime net where folks at sea provide local conditions.

If you can afford all the rest of this, you can certainly afford $1,000 or so for an IC-7300 for instance, and the time involved to study an get your General License.

The downsides to this are that data transmission is slow (think early dial up) and you are at the mercy of propagation.

Just pointing out alternatives.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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randy
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Re: Bugout on Yacht

Post by randy »

Here's an example from a request to the Winlink system (I used an internet connection just to get this quickly, but I could have easily done it over HF radio, and have done so in the past):

Message ID: AQCLMST0ICNR
Date: 2022/03/27 15:03
From: SERVICE
Source: SYSTEM
Downloaded-from: Telnet:cms.Winlink.org
Subject: INQUIRY - https://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/raw/fz/ ... wf.mfl.txt

FZUS52 KMFL 271402
CWFMFL

Coastal Waters Forecast for South Florida
National Weather Service Miami FL
1001 AM EDT Sun Mar 27 2022

Atlantic coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Ocean Reef out to 60
nm and Gulf coastal waters from East Cape Sable to Chokoloskee out
20 nm and Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach out 60 nm...including the
waters of Biscayne Bay and Lake Okeechobee.

Seas are provided as a range of the average height of the highest 1/3
of the waves...along with the occasional height of the average highest
10 percent of the waves.

AMZ600-GMZ606-280300-
Synopsis for Jupiter Inlet to Ocean Reef FL out to 60 nm and for East
Cape Sable to Bonita Beach FL out to 60 nm-
1001 AM EDT Sun Mar 27 2022

.Synopsis...

High pressure ridge will be moving over the local waters by early in
the week and then move east of the region towards midweek. Hazardous
marine conditions will continue across portions of the Atlantic
waters today before improving by tonight.

Gulf Stream Hazards: Seas 4 to 7 feet and occasionally higher
subsiding from south to north this afternoon and evening with
northwesterly winds gusting to around 25 knots through early
afternoon.

The approximate location of the west wall of the Gulf Stream as of
Mar 26, 2022 at 12 UTC...

14 nautical miles east of Fowey Rocks.
18 nautical miles east northeast of Port Everglades.
14 nautical miles east northeast of Lake Worth.
13 nautical miles east northeast of Jupiter Inlet.

This data courtesy of the Naval Oceanographic Office.

$$

AMZ650-670-280300-
Coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL out
20 NM-
Waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL from 20 to 60 NM-
1001 AM EDT Sun Mar 27 2022

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT...

.REST OF TODAY...North winds 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around
25 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet with occasional seas to 5 feet along
the coast and 6 to 8 feet with occasional to 10 feet in the Gulf
Stream. Period 7 seconds. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop.
.TONIGHT...North northwest winds 5 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet
with occasional seas to 5 feet along the coast and 5 to 7 feet
with occasional to 9 feet in the Gulf Stream. Period 8 seconds.
Intracoastal waters a light chop.
.MONDAY...North winds 10 to 15 knots becoming northeast 5 to
10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet along the coast and 3 to 5 feet with
occasional to 6 feet in the Gulf Stream. Period 7 seconds.
Intracoastal waters a moderate chop.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Along the coast, south southeast winds around
10 knots becoming west after midnight. In the Gulf Stream, south
southeast winds 5 to 15 knots becoming southwest 10 to 15 knots
after midnight. Seas around 2 feet along the coast and 2 to
4 feet with occasional to 5 feet in the Gulf Stream. Period
7 seconds. Intracoastal waters a light chop.
.TUESDAY...East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet.
Intracoastal waters a moderate chop.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...East southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 2 to
4 feet with occasional seas to 5 feet. Intracoastal waters
choppy in exposed areas.
.WEDNESDAY...Southeast winds around 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas to
6 feet. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...South southeast winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas
4 to 6 feet with occasional seas to 8 feet. Intracoastal waters
a moderate chop.
.THURSDAY...South southeast winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 4 to
6 feet with occasional seas to 8 feet. Intracoastal waters a
moderate chop. Slight chance of showers.

$$

AMZ651-671-280300-
Coastal waters from Deerfield Beach to Ocean Reef FL out 20 NM-
Waters from Deerfield Beach to Ocean Reef FL from 20 to 60 NM
excluding the territorial waters of Bahamas-
1001 AM EDT Sun Mar 27 2022

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING...

.REST OF TODAY...North northeast winds 10 to 20 knots with gusts
to around 25 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet with occasional seas to
5 feet along the coast and 5 to 7 feet with occasional to 9 feet
in the Gulf Stream. Period 7 seconds. Intracoastal waters a
moderate chop.
.TONIGHT...North northeast winds 5 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet
along the coast and 4 to 6 feet with occasional to 8 feet in the
Gulf Stream. Period 8 seconds. Intracoastal waters a light chop.
.MONDAY...Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet
along the coast and 3 to 5 feet with occasional to 6 feet in the
Gulf Stream. Period 7 seconds. Intracoastal waters a light chop.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots along the coast to
east southeast 10 to 15 knots in the Gulf Stream. Seas around
2 feet along the coast and 2 to 4 feet with occasional to 5 feet
in the Gulf Stream. Period 7 seconds. Intracoastal waters a
moderate chop.
.TUESDAY...East winds 10 to 20 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet along the
coast and 2 to 4 feet with occasional to 5 feet in the Gulf
Stream. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...East southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to
5 feet with occasional seas to 6 feet. Intracoastal waters
choppy in exposed areas.
.WEDNESDAY...East southeast winds around 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas to
6 feet. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Southeast winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 5 to
7 feet with occasional seas to 9 feet. Intracoastal waters rough
in exposed areas.
.THURSDAY...South southeast winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 4 to
6 feet with occasional seas to 8 feet. Intracoastal waters a
moderate chop.

$$

AMZ630-280300-
Biscayne Bay-
1001 AM EDT Sun Mar 27 2022

...SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION...

.REST OF TODAY...Northeast winds 10 to 20 knots. Bay waters
choppy.
.TONIGHT...Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots becoming north 5 to
15 knots after midnight. Bay waters a moderate chop.
.MONDAY...North northeast winds 10 to 15 knots becoming east.
Bay waters a moderate chop.
.MONDAY NIGHT...East winds 5 to 10 knots. Bay waters a light
chop.
.TUESDAY...East winds 10 to 15 knots. Bay waters a moderate
chop.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...East southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Bay waters
choppy.
.WEDNESDAY...Southeast winds around 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Bay waters choppy.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Southeast winds around 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Bay waters choppy.
.THURSDAY...South southeast winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Bay waters choppy.

$$

GMZ656-280300-
Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM-
1001 AM EDT Sun Mar 27 2022

...SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION...

.REST OF TODAY...North northwest winds 10 to 20 knots. Seas 2 to
4 feet with occasional seas to 5 feet. Period 6 seconds. Bay and
inland waters a moderate chop.
.TONIGHT...North northeast winds 10 to 15 knots nearshore and
north northeast 10 to 20 knots offshore. Seas 2 to 3 feet.
Period 4 seconds. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop.
.MONDAY...North northeast winds 5 to 15 knots becoming west
northwest 10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Period 5 seconds.
Bay and inland waters a moderate chop.
.MONDAY NIGHT...North northwest winds 5 to 15 knots becoming
northeast 5 to 10 knots after midnight. Seas around 2 feet.
Period 3 seconds. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
.TUESDAY...East southeast winds 5 to 10 knots becoming south
10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Seas around
2 feet. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...East southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas
around 2 feet nearshore and 2 to 4 feet with occasional to
5 feet offshore. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop.
.WEDNESDAY...Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around
25 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet nearshore and 3 to 5 feet with
occasional to 6 feet offshore. Bay and inland waters a moderate
chop.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Southeast winds around 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet nearshore and 3 to 5 feet with
occasional to 6 feet offshore. Bay and inland waters a moderate
chop.
.THURSDAY...South southeast winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas to
6 feet. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Slight chance of
showers.

$$

GMZ657-280300-
Coastal waters from East Cape Sable to Chokoloskee FL out 20 NM-
1001 AM EDT Sun Mar 27 2022

...SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION...

.REST OF TODAY...North winds 10 to 20 knots becoming northwest
10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet nearshore and 2 to 4 feet
with occasional to 5 feet offshore. Period 3 seconds. Bay and
inland waters a moderate chop.
.TONIGHT...North northeast winds 10 to 15 knots with gusts to
around 20 knots. Seas around 2 feet nearshore and 2 to 3 feet
offshore. Period 3 seconds. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
.MONDAY...North northeast winds 5 to 15 knots becoming west.
Seas around 2 feet. Period 4 seconds. Bay and inland waters a
moderate chop.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas less than
2 feet. Period 2 seconds. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
.TUESDAY...Southeast winds 10 to 20 knots. Seas less than 2 feet
building to 2 to 3 feet. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...East southeast winds 15 to 20 knots nearshore
and east southeast 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots
offshore. Seas around 2 feet nearshore and 2 to 4 feet with
occasional to 5 feet offshore. Bay and inland waters a moderate
chop.
.WEDNESDAY...Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around
25 knots. Seas around 2 feet nearshore and 2 to 4 feet with
occasional to 5 feet offshore. Bay and inland waters a moderate
chop.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Southeast winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 2 to
3 feet nearshore and 3 to 5 feet with occasional to 6 feet
offshore. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop.
.THURSDAY...South southeast winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet nearshore and 3 to 5 feet with
occasional to 6 feet offshore. Bay and inland waters a moderate
chop.

$$

GMZ676-280300-
Waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL from 20 to 60 NM-
1001 AM EDT Sun Mar 27 2022

...SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION...

.REST OF TODAY...North winds 10 to 20 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet
with occasional seas to 5 feet. Period 5 seconds.
.TONIGHT...North northeast winds 10 to 15 knots with gusts to
around 20 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Period 4 seconds.
.MONDAY...Northeast winds 5 to 15 knots becoming north northwest
5 to 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Period 4 seconds.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around
2 feet. Period 3 seconds.
.TUESDAY...Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around
20 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas to
6 feet.
.WEDNESDAY...Southeast winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet
with occasional seas to 8 feet.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...South southeast winds 20 to 25 knots with
gusts to around 30 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet with occasional seas
to 8 feet.
.THURSDAY...South southeast winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts to
around 25 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet with occasional seas to
8 feet. Slight chance of showers.

$$

AMZ610-280300-
Lake Okeechobee-
1001 AM EDT Sun Mar 27 2022

.REST OF TODAY...North northwest winds 5 to 15 knots. Lake
waters a moderate chop.
.TONIGHT...North northwest winds 5 to 15 knots. Lake waters a
moderate chop.
.MONDAY...North northwest winds 5 to 10 knots becoming
southeast. Lake waters a light chop.
.MONDAY NIGHT...South winds 5 to 10 knots becoming west
northwest after midnight. Lake waters a light chop.
.TUESDAY...East winds 5 to 15 knots. Lake waters a moderate
chop.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Lake waters a
moderate chop.
.WEDNESDAY...Southeast winds 10 to 20 knots. Lake waters choppy.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...South southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Lake
waters choppy.
.THURSDAY...South winds 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around
25 knots. Lake waters choppy. Slight chance of showers.

$$





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...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
User avatar
g-man
Posts: 1430
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:40 pm

Re: Bugout on Yacht

Post by g-man »

Thanks! Learn something new every day here. Considering I developed my own geofence and event filtration for data in our AO and have made auto-updating slides, I could just grab that and populate my own ‘pretty pictures’ to capture this at a glance… now I still need to figure out how to get SWMBO onboard (literally and figuratively).

Oh, and the thought of dial-up speed doesn’t concern me too much since I remember those days and somewhere back in the recesses of my brain there’s an understanding of how to limit how much you ask for. We have so much access to data these days, we just get spoiled and over-indulge.
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
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