Any ideas for a fun adventure?

reply to post by mckyle

I have no idea how feasible the idea of
finding/buying an old ocean-going junk is.

With enough money, I'm sure it could be arranged. But the first thing that comes to mind is crew. Ocean sailing solo is not the safest thing in the world to do, and from looking at some pictures I don't get the impression these things are designed to be operated by much fewer than four or five people.

Also: radar reflectors. US Naval ships are notorious for nighttime collisions with smaller craft.

unplanned and uninvited boat-warming from
any number of local pirates.

I have heard good things about these. You will need to mount it to the deck.

reply to post by mckyle


Ditto my good man., I also enjoy your writing too and I know they are from you because your avatar is unmistakable.

As to the ocean going Junk, now that is what I would call the adventure of a lifetime, a one in a lifetime deal even. I hope you are able to make it through the many obstacles that might get in the way of such a thing but that said... Arggggh there be pirates and that might be an adventure but only until they actually showed up, waving Kalashnikovs under your nose and admiring your pretty other half.

After that I would imagine the fun factor would tail off pretty quickly.

I sailed from La Rochelle to Pool on the south English coast, stopping of at Bayonne and other southern western ports (taking a huge detour right out into the bay). A true ocean going trip would be the adventure that would never be forgotten and remembered always with fondness.

I really hope your dream becomes a reality my friend; just thinking about it is enough to make me nod and smile.

You should find a local watery place, sharpen a stick, and go harpoon fishing! I have always wanted to do that!

reply to post by SmokeJaguar67




I know what you mean about the rules, but they are there to be broken as far as I am concerned.

When I went, with a few chums, we got lumbered with some really young guns, I'm talking 11-12 year olds. Turned out quite good though because they would do basically anything we said. Needless to say that every plan we had for each mission included the term "Operation Human Shield", I'll give you one guess as to who bore the brunt of that operation

Also, one of the instructors hit me directly in the mouth with a paintball. I nearly chocked to death right there and then. Then he had the audacity to approach me at the end and inform me of what a great shot it was, little swine!

All good fun though

reply to post by SmokeJaguar67

I would imagine the fun factor would tail off pretty quickly.

I'm not convinced the fun factor would be that high to begin with. In my experience, sailing is wet, cold, smelly and miserable. Being compelled to choose between freezing to death on deck, or feeling sick and disoriented below...the eternal clanging of the rigging against the mast, the crunchy feel of clothing washed in salt water...

...it's one thing to go sailing for a weekend, but for any kind of longer trip where you're actually trying to go somewhere, I find that it very quickly stops being fun.

reply to post by CaninE.G


It depends on your idea of fun, of course, but... have you looked around this site?
Have you seen the Untersberg thread?
(You can search for it - or just go to my profile and you'll find it in no time.)
Or see my thread called "Are there 33 shamans on ATS?" It's about a place in Siberia.
In my book, places like that rate very high on the "fun" scale.

And, of course, there is no adventure quite as (literally) mind-boggling as learning a new language: and the LESS practical (the language) for you, the better!













[edit on 25-12-2009 by Vanitas]

reply to post by Vanitas


And BTW, a visit to the Markawasi "stone forest" (see my recently revived thread) would also qualify as a "fun adventure", don't you think?

reply to post by LordBucket


Valid point yes and I would agree up to a point.

The longest I sailed nonstop was five days the rest we had stopovers in French ports where we would disembark for supplies and then rinse and repeat (maybe get very drunk and jump into the harbour and get in trouble). After a time the crew starts to get a bit beefy in the hygiene department. Some guys even jumped into the sea for fun after we had left port but I have a bit of a problem with swimming in very deep water and to see my friends swimming in water of a depth in excess of a thousand metres just gave me the “heebie Jeebies.”

A trip that takes months of longer would become something also and nothing like a holiday but that said, I would love nothing more than to get wet and miserable on a round the world trip and I even imagine to this day doing such a thing on my own.

Of course that will never happen now but I can dream and sometimes those dreams are of utter isolation at sea with no land in sight.
One of the finest memories was in the Bay of Biscay. It was a sunny day, we were becalmed and the sea was not even undulating. It was like a glass mirror, just very, VERY slight movements on the surface to give any indication that it was a liquid and not glass.

All around us out to a distance of about ten miles was a white haze and I was sitting on the bow, my legs dangling over the edge and my face down on my chest as I glared down into the depths. The water was black and filled with hundreds of tiny jellyfish and I knew the water was so deep that a mountain could be beneath me and I would not see it. I could see down into the dark for tend of metres as I used the many jellyfish as markers.

I looked up and at that moment many miles off the bow, directly ahead, a white three masted schooner caught the sun as it emerged from the distant fog. My thoughts went instantly to the Marie Celeste. From the direction it was heading it looked like it was heading for the English Channel several hundred miles to the north east.

Sailing at sea on that day involved total silence, not even wind, not even the sound of water in a world of crystalline water under a blazing sun.
It was heaven and I was sad when it ended.

reply to post by Doc Tesla

grab a knap sack filled with a few essentials and just go. anywhere. just start walking. walk until you find something cool then walk towards that. visit it and then keep walking.

From my travels I would say USE YOUR head. I once did exactly the same thing. Crested Butt CO. We had a free afternoon and I just took off by myself to see the Mountain. Higher, higher then a slight drizzle came. Rocks got went, how I got where I got to couldn't figure out (tress and brush and folding rock formations). Next thing was panic and lucky climb down cliff face jamming hand and feet into cracks to get down.

Bloodied but got off safe. No one knew where I was and when I told them they thought I was Nuts. Foolish for sure

Mother Nature is Unpredictable so Respect Her

reply to post by CaninE.G


Gold-mining claim...there was one selling (20 acres of mineral rights, two counties from me, old mine from the 1920s, six stories dug down) on ebay 2weeks back, it was at $1500 bid but my truck just broke cashflow yadda yadda yadda...but it looked okay good, outdoors and fun, and even if it had less gold than my teeth, when gold goes to $2000/oz or whatever I could find some other fool than me who'd buy it on glamour alone.
I've had several friends combine the prospecting, or sluicing, with working... if you live far from gold (I'm in Utah) you could just do a trip without buying or working a claim, or pick some other hunter-gatherer grab-for-it mineral, in UT there's this red tourmaline in this one mountain range, rare, okay-valuable, buncha uranium claims, fossils, et cetera, lots of stuff that might be interesting.
It's outdoors, it's intellectual with research and planning, and it wouldn't be a vain consumer experience "I'm a toad - amuse me" because it has potential for profit and skill-set improvement.
Maybe you live near some interesting old shipwreck, same type of concept...or like that dude in England found that Dark Ages gold hoard metal-detecting on his buddy's farm...hmm.
(And if the global warming is melting the permafrost, maybe there's some mammoth ivory you can scoop up in the mud...that's one for further thought...how would I know it was in this particular mud unless it was on the surface...I'm ignorant, on that, this minute..."Where would a mammoth be when it died?")

reply to post by LordBucket


Hey LordBucket

Great advice on the .50 cal. Now, if I can only get my hands on one.........

I agree - with the right amount of dough, anything is gettable. So you never know - maybe I'll get lucky and be able to land a decent, floating tub ;-)

A definite YES on the reflector! Sadly, this replica war junk met it's end only one day out from completing it's 17,000 mile round trip. It was sliced in half by a big freighter!
Replica WarJunk Sinks After Collision

I think someone mentioned carrying a shotty on board. I know they're great in closeup combat, but I'd rather not let a bunch of AK-47 wielding pirates get that close to start with! I would seriously look into a good radar unit capable of picking up small non-metal vessels at long-range (not all radars are suited for that)

A much as I don't want to enter into any firefight anywhere, I would probably look for something that could take out a target at range but also good close up (perhaps a Sig 550, or a H&K G36 - if I could actually get my hands on one).

And LordBucket - again, you're right about the minimal crew being around 5 - if you're looking at a three-master, which I probably would be.


[edit on 25-12-2009 by mckyle]

Originally posted by SmokeJaguar67

I really hope your dream becomes a reality my friend; just thinking about it is enough to make me nod and smile.

Thanks mate for your kind words and encouragement

When I go looking for a crew, I'll be sure to give you a yell - and I promise - not one bit of whining will you hear from yours truly

Having said that, I noticed you mentioned, that your sailing days are over. Can I ask why mate?

It's always sad to hear people relegate dreams to just being 'dreams'. I guess that's because I've never grown up, and don't want to.

Your last trip intrigued me. Did you literally consider the possibility of the schooner being the Mary Celeste, or was just your stylish narrative coming through?

Oh, and by the way - I have the exact same phobia with the deep. To the point where I've endured the same nightmare for the last 30 years!! So I can relate well and truly.

[edit on 25-12-2009 by mckyle]

reply to post by CaninE.G


If you want to, go to the Bermuda Triangle and find a portal located there to another dimension.

I'm not sure if it would be your kind of a thing, but I know what always results in an amazing adventure. Psychedelic mushrooms, some fine cannabis, and a walk through your local "Woods" on a beautiful sunny day. This adventure will increase in awesomeness tenfold if you have a beautiful girl by your side.

reply to post by mckyle


My deep sea sailing days are over because my wife is a city girl, my daughters are not lovers of the sea and would prefer to trek over hills rather than heave their stomachs into the sea from a pitching deck.

Short term water journeys they can take I guess but sea going? My ears would burn.

As to that schooner I saw coming out of the mist – I knew it was not the Celeste but the feeling was “wow” because that was my first thought upon setting eyes on it as it drifted on the limit of my vision. I was the first one to see it even before the helmsman and skipper who had been scanning with a set of binoculars) but that would have been because I was on the prow at the time, switching from gazing down into the inky jellyfish clouded depths to glancing up into a clear azure sky.

I was off watch at the time and really I should have been below catching up on some sleep but me being me I am not one to miss out on a chance of some euphoria and becalmed, surrounding haze and a clear sky = awesomeness.

I will sleep when I’m dead hehe.

I am more content now to walk with my dog (a fantastic Alaskan malamute) up in the highlands and to avoid human company as much as possible. I am sad to say that there is so much damage within the human psyche and it is very noticeable within the city dwellers that I talk more to my dog than I would a stranger.

I am planning on investing in a several sea going kayaks (open and closed designs). The open design so I can take my dog and the closed designs so my daughters can accompany me but only after they have done the introductory and advanced courses at Queensferry on the firth of forth.

Next year baring “doom” will be a great one for the great outdoors. Some outer islands look fantastic for some inner searching, sky watching and long term out door living.