[pugman]

I'm not a boat person, and while this plan is viable, it would be a last resort for me.

I'm a big believer in the 3 B's and have my own version which includes something your scenario precludes: Buddies (although ironically Boats would now fit into it). I would rather than 4-5 friends I can count on hands down than all the bullets and beans in the world. Are you bringing people with you. If yes, your supply problem has just doubled or tripled.

Second, boats are expensive and costly to maintain. I assume in your situation your boat would be already stocked to leave at a moment's notice. While piracy is a possibility I would be worried the boat would be broken into at your port. If things get bad, boats, car storage units will be major targets. As someone has mentioned even a cheap boat sailboat capable of ocean travel will run at least $100K or more. If you could leave the city timely and get somewhere else-$100K buys a lot of peace of mind there. Are you a boater? Like I said, I'm not a boat guy and can't see having $100-whateverK sitting somewhere doing nothing.

Third, you are assuming in a "bad" situation the islanders will even want you there. My #1 real world disaster is the economic failure of the U.S. Imagine any other scenario you want: in a virial outbreak for example do you think islanders will WANT you on their island. And to think Latin America will fair any bad scenario better than the U.S IMO is a long shot.

Of course the mentioned piracy will constantly be a problem. I could see the boat being viable if it was taking you somewhere else to stay....but as a long term option??

 

[mac66]

Whether it's in a boat or an RV you should have a place already picked out to bug out to. That presumes you are prepared, know what your are doing and have already been to the place(s) you intend to bug out to so no surprises.

I've RV'd all over the country. I have places picked out north, south, east and west that I've been to and am familiar with. The same would hold true on a boat. Showing up cold to a strange place is a gamble.

 

[G29guy06]

Whether it's in a boat or an RV you should have a place already picked out to bug out to. That presumes you are prepared, know what your are doing and have already been to the place(s) you intend to bug out to so no surprises.

I've RV'd all over the country. I have places picked out north, south, east and west that I've been to and am familiar with. The same would hold true on a boat. Showing up cold to a strange place is a gamble.

Good points...but I think most people here left that planning w/ the back up mags they don’t need to carry

 

[G29guy06]

Once my obligations up here are done I have a few friends with boats. One is an open fisherman with no cabin so that wouldn’t work. I do however know someone in the palm beaches with a fifty foot sailboat he races. After making this post I researched a forty foot sailboat which would be the minimum in my mind and used ones can be had for anywhere from 140,000 to 600,000 depending on type and setup. I haven’t been on much given how busy I have been here but this gives me something to research in the evening once things settle down.

Their are obviously many things to consider such as will I have access to my money in/outside the u.s.? If I open a foreign bank account and report it to the IRS would they seize foreign accounts belonging to Americans during a large scale national emergency? Leaving me without any money. What about getting health care outside u.s.? Cash and carry I imagine.

Like has been mentioned there are many variables.

Healthcare in most places abroad is cash/ carry and much cheaper on regular things...however I’m a proponent of being self sufficient in medicine and knowledge of how to use it.

Drinking water is an easy thing to overcome. As long as it’s not salt water, Potable Aqua tabs from Walmart do just fine...

And about banks/ money. Having cash on hand is a good thing. But precious metals and ammo can be even better if society totally fails. Someone may have a stash of foods and has run low on ammo protecting it and may be willing to give you and your peoples a small meal in exchange for some ammo...

 

[G33]

I sail and have taught it for Red Cross and USCG.
Unless you have a boat over 65 feet with an auxiliary motor and loads of sea experience, that is not a way to go, sorry.
You should also have a small crew.
Lone sailors are easy pickings from nature and predators.
Ask the Coast Guard.

 

[G33]

On a positive note, having a solid 4x4 vehicle, well supplied with extra tires( note plural) gas tank spares, etc is a good start.
Get off the island early, or get to Montauk.
Have food and water and weapons.
You may need to keep what you already have.
Or take what you need.
Gritty.

 

[mac66]

I sail and have taught it for Red Cross and USCG.
Unless you have a boat over 65 feet with an auxiliary motor and loads of sea experience, that is not a way to go, sorry.
You should also have a small crew.
Lone sailors are easy pickings from nature and predators.
Ask the Coast Guard.

Not necessarily. I have friends (married couple in their late 60s) who sold all their stuff, moved onto a 37 foot sailboat and are sailing it around the world. They left Florida 6 or 7 months ago and are now in Fiji. They have solar, wind generator and desalinator. Of course they also have a diesel engine. They seem to be doing pretty well. But then again they are experienced sailors.

 

[Bradley T]

No, stay in the US. If it's bad here, is it really gonna be better in those islands?

 

[G33]

One rogue wave and they are cooked.

 

[Oldschooltube]

let's see...
a) we have the most powerful military in the world, so we're not getting beat from the outside

b) well more than 50% of Americans are decent, good people who believe in the principles our nation was founded on

c) Far less than 50% are lawless leftists who wish to destroy our country

I for one, prefer to stand and fight. I think the odds are with us.

Yep. I’m one of the “Stay put and defend if at all possible” crowd.

In SHTF situation road travel to bug out is a delusion besides, how would you even know where to go and once you get there then what?

I’m not a prep person but with what is in the house the family could survive very comfortably for 60 days or more and there’s deer galore if more food is needed.

Pretty much all the neighbors are on the same page. Stay put, defend and help each other. On one side my neighbor is a firefighter/EMT and on the other side the neighbor is an RN and both hunt/shoot.

I think this would happen a lot if SHTF - a lot of small groups would stay put and band together.

 

[agtman]

Yep. I’m one of the “Stay put and defend if at all possible” crowd. * * *
* * *
Pretty much all the neighbors are on the same page. Stay put, defend and help each other.

Ya know, anymore and after many years of hearing all the 'bug-out'/'bug-in' arguments, the perspective of 'stand & fight' (if it comes to that) carries less risk than turning you and yours into refugees at the mercy of whoever/whatever ...

The most secure BOL might be the one where you are, if you've prepped it correctly.

Now, if you've already established a well-stocked and secure BOL some distance away, it's incumbent that you're able to 'read the tea leaves' and get out early and get there BEFORE the thing officially becomes a thang - and well BEFORE your fellow citizens turn themselves into highway-choking refugees who make your exit impossible. Being lost among a mass of fleeing refugees is worse than being chased by a horde of zombies.

 

[mac66]

Yep. I’m one of the “Stay put and defend if at all possible” crowd.

In SHTF situation road travel to bug out is a delusion besides, how would you even know where to go and once you get there then what?

I’m not a prep person but with what is in the house the family could survive very comfortably for 60 days or more and there’s deer galore if more food is needed.

Pretty much all the neighbors are on the same page. Stay put, defend and help each other. On one side my neighbor is a firefighter/EMT and on the other side the neighbor is an RN and both hunt/shoot.

I think this would happen a lot if SHTF - a lot of small groups would stay put and band together.

Except if you have to leave you better have a place to go already picked out. Sometimes you don't have a choice but to leave (natural disaster etc).

 

[Glockworks]

Here on Long Island (LI) there are plenty of anti-gun people. Some of my family included. It wasn’t much of an issue when I moved up here since I have to establish residency of a year before I can have a gun here. Even then there is no chance of a carry permit whatsoever.

Not a chance in Hail that I would move to a socialist paradise like where you live without kicking and screaming, literally. Never, let those sheetheads discover what happens the hard way when a disaster happens and the police are no where to be found.

 

[scattershot]

My first thought on being in a small boat in deep water is that you are well and truly alone with no place to go if you are attacked on the water.

 

[agtman]

Except if you have to leave you better have a place to go already picked out. Sometimes you don't have a choice but to leave (natural disaster etc).

That's correct. And what I said above applies generally to disasters, natural and man-made, although I had more of the latter in mind.

In the case of Hurricane Flo., we'd have been out 2 weeks before it became the main story of the news cycle.

 

[starfish86]

Not a chance in Hail that I would move to a socialist paradise like where you live without kicking and screaming, literally. Never, let those sheetheads discover what happens the hard way when a disaster happens and the police are no where to be found.

They are old folks. Their kids, my cousins, are far away with young children. So I came back to take care of family. I’m glad that I can do it. It has been a mixed bag experience wise though. My permanent home is back in Miami. As of right now we (the family) have decided to help them stay in their home as long as possible.

 

[starfish86]

Do you currently sail or do you think you will just hop on a random sailboat and learn as you go?

No I don’t currently sail. I have been on power boats for fishing. I haven’t sailed since I was a kid. I have been researching getting ASA certified through a school in the caribbean. That will have wait until my obligations here in NY are done.

 

[starfish86]

Screw health care outside U.S. borders. You're taking major risks with non-U.S. drinking water, unsterilized needles, and sleeping on not-too-clean bed sheets. (Foreign bed bugs are like mini-Crocodiles).

And it absolutely will be 'cash-n-carry' in a real-world SHTF. Always is ...

So you need to adopt my Grandfather's 'Depression philosophy' toward money: 'screw the banks!'

If there's a panic run of customers trying to withdraw 'emergency' cash when the event hits, it's already too late. You'll never get your money out. The Feds will order the banks shut down and secured even if the resident manager didn't ordered it at the outset ...

Best to have a goodly amount of cash (maybe several thousand $$$ worth) in small bills stashed/hid where you can quickly and conveniently access it when the ballon pops - especially in a major financial center like NYC.

Remember, in a real-world SHTF event, the guy with a fist full of hundreds and a Glock 19 on his hip gets whatever he needs first.

I read both Costa Rica and Panama have good health care options. I learned Spanish as a kid in South Florida after we moved down from New York. I can read it and write it at informal level. My thoughts are not long term maybe if I have to leave for up to a year or two was more my line of thought. My kids are grown and spread throughout the country. Panama and Costa Rica take time but I read you can open an account legitimately as a non citizen. My concern would be given that I intend to follow the letter of the law and report it as required how quick will the U.S. seize it if SHTF.

I’ll say this at fifty years old I don’t know how many years I got left but I won’t be emigrating to a foreign country I don’t speak the language in to become a dishwasher or Gardner so I can live and eat. At that point given my age is life even worth living? I came across a very cool YouTube channel called sailing uma. Two kids met in college in Canada studying architecture and once they graduated took their life savings ($10,000) and bought old used sailboat and have been living lean sailing the caribbean for almost two years now. It shows the kind of things you may run into should you choose that route.

 

[starfish86]

I sail and have taught it for Red Cross and USCG.
Unless you have a boat over 65 feet with an auxiliary motor and loads of sea experience, that is not a way to go, sorry.
You should also have a small crew.
Lone sailors are easy pickings from nature and predators.
Ask the Coast Guard.

For a crew it would be me and a friend who has boating experience. Possibly one extra person without boating experience. From Miami/Ft. Lauderdale the immediate plan would be to cross to Bimini first (around 60 Miles) then try and decide if we need to get further out say the French West Indies. I have friends in Martinique. I am looking at getting ASA certified to be able to charter so I can decide mono Hull or Cat. Right I am committed to NY for at least a year. So not much I can do now except research.

 

[starfish86]

No, stay in the US. If it's bad here, is it really gonna be better in those islands?

I don’t know. The Bahamas World Trade Center is still standing. They seemed to not have any DC sniper or Vegas shooter problems. One thing I have come to understand having lived among Latin Americans, Europeans, folks from the Caribbean is they aren’t the states but they don’t have some of our more common social problems. Again, I’m not planning on leaving forever just up to a year or two max god forbid the need arises. Anything more than that I prefer to let nature take it’s course. I have zero interest in living outside the u.s. and never coming back.