Prepping to Survive: The Nautical Series Pt. 1: The Bug Out Boat

Editor’s Note: If and when an emergency occurs where evacuations are ordered,  many of us will be scrambling to get our bug out vehicles packed and ready in hopes of not getting caught in the mass exodus along the way. Mike, a nautical virtuoso, along with his wife will be bugging out by another mode of transportation: their yacht. While we are sitting in stand still traffic for hours on end, they will be setting there sails toward a remote island to sit out the emergency in quiet solitude. Read more on how they have, and continue to prepare for a SHTF scenario. 

For over a year now, my wife and I have been actively prepping for the collapse of the system that we all have grown to believe could never fail.  We often see others afflicted with the normalcy bias; something so terrible it could never happen to us here.  Wrong, it can and will.

Both my wife and I are entrepreneurs, and make our living from the sea.  Boats and yachts are our life; we sleep aboard a boat and work aboard one almost every day.  So when the process of prepping began, it was no question that the sea would provide our getaway plan; it’s what we know best.

We own a 44 foot motor yacht and keep it docked on the southern US coastline in a small fishing village.  (I’ll not divulge any location specifics as I must maintain my confidentiality.)  We are about ½ mile from the open waters of the sea.

When beginning our prepping process, we prepared a list of priority items.  A year’s supply of freeze dried foods, instant foods, boat maintenance equipment, survival gear like guns and ammo and normal household supplies were  placed on the list, most things any prepper would do.  We even have items like sprouting seeds, instant orange juice, and a year’s supply of coffee to provide some semblance or normalcy.  We carry 500 gallons of diesel fuel and have a 400 gallon fresh water storage capacity.  All of these are stored aboard.

Using a yacht as a getaway vessel gave us some advantages.  It allows us to retreat to remote locations that only a boater will be able to get to; we will then be out of reach of some 95% of the population.

Using freeze dried foods takes water and we carry a finite supply, or we did.  We have now installed a reverse osmosis watermaker aboard our boat too.  We can now turn salt water into drinking water at the flip of a switch.

But a water maker takes power to run and we have a limited power supply, or we did.  Recognizing that we must conserve diesel fuel by not operating the generator any more than necessary, we have installed both solar panels and a wind turbine.  These can keep the boats 12 volt power supply at 100%. An inverter converts battery power to 120 volt ac power to operate the yacht’s refrigeration.

We have selected a getaway anchorage on the leeward side of an island not too far from us. The anchorage offers good protection from possible storms, and allows us good visibility to observe other boats approaching.  The island is only accessible by water and has only several part-time inhabitants.  The mainland is over a mile away.  It’s not likely too many boats will be out when the SHTF.

The island is abundant in deer and wild turkeys and my shooting skills are right on target.  Fish, crabs and shellfish are also abundant too.  I was raised on the coast so fishing and hunting is a natural.  Fresh game or trout for dinner anyone?

So when the SHTF, you may be retreating to a cabin in the hills; we will be living off the sea.

Fair winds.

Mike