Well, This Is What I'm Taking With Me So Far

Hi All,

A few days ago I posted My Escape From This Society, announcing my plan to sail into the South Pacific (specifically the Solomon Island/Vanuatu area) and begin to find a new life. This is the equipment list that I'm working on so far. I've purchased most of the smaller stuff, and am waiting to see a dealer in Perth about the water filtration system and power generators. Any comment or thought would be very welcome.

The yacht itself is a 32 footer Van De Stadt, called Mutaku. She's recently been outfitted with expanded water tank of 250 litres + the original 250 litre = 500 litres. Powered by single diesel engine and a good cruising boat. She's been with me for the last 2 years and has always been a joy to sail.

On the yacht:
I'm looking at a water filtration system capable of reverse osmosis.
I'm split between the “Little Wonder” (www.villagemarine.com...)
or the
Sea Bird - Compact (www.dolphindesalinators.com...)

Does anyone here have experience using any reverse osmosis units? This is the last major purchase I have to make, and will be heading off to Perth in about two weeks to look at the units and see a demonstration. This is the thing that keeps me up at night. Any opinions would be great.

Battery array (8 x 2) Using Gel batteries, linked into an array of 8. One active array and one redundant. Hopefully using the DuoGen 2 for power generation (fitted with the standard dump reg). Should provide all the power I need.

Small Honda generator + spare parts
Laptop to be used for navigation (and entertainment)
Commonly need spare parts for engine
Spare sails
Epirb
Survival suit: The Quickdon from RFD
Life jackets – Just the standard life jackets used in everyday boating.
Life boat
Spare parts for Mutaku that commonly break (although she's pretty good at handling the ocean)
Spare paint/anti-foul...

When I sail, I use the sails. Will be trying to keep diesel consumption down as little as possible.
Full charts of the area (x2) One on-board, the other in survival bag.
I can read the stars naturally, and have used this way of navigation many times before with success.

Smaller Items
Survival knife – I've always used the Leatherman range of utility knives and will be taking a few with me.

Machetes are very versatile. At the moment I use a 45 cm curved blade, and will bring a few straight edge and a few curved ones. Just to be sure (you can never have enough machete's). Can be used for cutting meat, trees, slashing paths... don't try to hunt with a machete, you'll only end up using up energy that you didn't have to use. Try a bow or snares instead.

Compound Bow - I use the Hoyt TurboHawk Target for hunting, and have it set to a 80lbs draw strength. Of course taking along 500 flights and a variety of heads. Will always prefer a bow over a gun, simply because you can take down a target in a small area without scaring off everything else in range! Bringing along a secondary bow + spares.

Tarps. Absolutely essential. Bringing along a variety of sizes and thickness. Can never be sure when you might need a tarp! Tarps are the most useful and essential survival item I have come across. They can be used for many uses, e.g shelter, water collection, signals, hammocks, trapping heat...

Wire (both steel and mono-filament) 1000m of wire, 5000m of mono.
Great for securing shelters, hunting (snares)

Fishing equipment – Just the normal rods, (2 small rods, 2 surf-casters) + spare eyelets, spare reels, hooks, sinkers (rather a lot of them). 5000m of fishing line. Also small nets and 4 spearguns.

Candles

Flints x 4 and lighters (Zippo style) x 5

Liquid Butane (for refilling lighters)

Full first aid kit (x2)

Variety of Medical supplies (Hydrogen Peroxide, sunscreen, antiseptic...)

Cable ties – always useful. 5 packs of 500.

Climbing rope - I use a dual 8mm set up when climbing. Will not be using this much, so just bringing along the two of them, along with a full rack of technical climbing equipment.

Static ropes – much more useful then dynamic in day to day life. Variety of thickness and lengths.

Headlamps + rechargeable batteries

Lot and lots of books

Short wave radio

Food
I will be regularly visiting the markets to begin with, but hope to slowly become self-sufficient in the future. I will be bringing seeds. Lots and lots of seeds. Some things that grow well around the Vanuatu/New Caledonia area are:
Pumpkin
Taro
Kumara
Yam
Polo (chilli leaf)
Spinach
Cabbage
Pak choi
And lot of others. I would recommend South pacific Commission - Community Health Services - South Pacific Foods for a starting point for anyone interested in the wide variety of foods that can be grown.
Dried supplies
Chickens
Meat will mostly be obtained from hunting/fishing
Preserved meats
Flour
Salts not a problem
Vitamin pills - to begin with, I will be on a course of multi-vitamins. It will be interesting to see if I can nutritionally sustain myself.

Food is very important to me. Without it, I quickly get irritable and will lose energy quickly. The ability to preserve foods I come across for later eating is essential.

To me the most important items are Water, shelter, food. Everything else is a bonus.

Well, that wraps it up for now, but I'll be adding to this list as I develop my plan. I have another 6 months before departure, so I'm sure this list will get revised several times before that!

Thanks for reading and I look forward to any suggestion or comments.

Cheers
Shane



[edit on 2/7/10 by shamus78]

Practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice every single thing. Use all of the above in your daily life until it is second nature. No time for reading manuals when you are out there (contrary to many beliefs)

reply to post by RicketyCricket


Absolutely. I'm very familiar with all my equipment and have lived the lifestyle for years now. Have trained for the last few years to do this. I appreciate your words, they are the most sensible thing anyone could say, and exactly what I would say to someone who was about to do this.

You must understand your equipment at an intimate level. Manuals are useless as soon as you leave shore.

[edit on 2/7/10 by shamus78]

reply to post by shamus78


Sorry, I don't really have anything intelligent to add to your list, except TAKE ME WITH YOU!

Might want to consider:

Wide mouth ball jars
cornelius kegs
Nuts-bolts-washers-screws-misc hardware
Mechanical tool kit.
Krazy Glue
Drill
Hacksaw
Solar Cooker
hobo cook stove
Cheap 75w solar panel
Rain Gear
plenty of rice and beans


good luck,

Sri Oracle


[edit on 2-7-2010 by Sri Oracle]

reply to post by shamus78


Excellent. Other than those words, I think some sort of solar still, or, anything solar for that matter would aid you along.

Enjoy your time, and take a few journals with you. It would be nice for whomever finds your remains to know what all was happening, and how you did everything. Who knows, you could be a legend some day?

EDIT to Add:
May you live a long and bountiful life on your island paradise.

[edit on 2-7-2010 by RicketyCricket]

blue polypropelene builders rope - various diameters - its dirt cheap - save your static rope for instances where your life depends on it

codless hammerdrill - plus bits kit

hammers , saws , spade . pick , axe , shovel , gardening fork

nails , screws , " mechano strip "

1000 guage plastic sheet on a roll - black , orange and transparent - compliments your tarps

plastic bin bags - the real heavy duty ones - also builders rubble sacks
firearms - no i am not talking about ` going rambo ` but a carbine chambered to .22lr and or a 16ga shotgun . as you already plan on bow hunting - i would go with the shotgun - bowhunting birds is very hard work

add a bowfishing kit to your bow - yes i know you have fishing rods - but bowfishermaen dont have to wait for the fish to get hungry and take a bait

lugols iodide solution in your first aid kit / emergency chemicals

wake powered generator - not thier real name - and i dunno who makes them - but a very neat little thing i have seen - basically it looks lkie a tiny outboard motor with a oversized prop - that will power your onboad systems and recharge batteries while you are undersail - at the price of 0.5 kt or so

thats all for now

As others have said try out your plan... you will quickly find what works and what doesn't.. this qualifies for any plan.

Bows are great for prey firearms work best on 2 legged prey, just saying be a good Boy Scout, Be Prepared.
Second item duct tape.
Bring a solar power generator nothing huge just one of those 20 x 24 inch size battery charger types. Solar generators can also keep a laptop running darn near as long as you can use it, that is as long as you sleep at night.
Renewable energy is teh kits mitts.
Back up disks of programs you will use plus do not forget an OS disk as long as you have a web connection of some sort problems can happen. Satellite web connection?
Ya never know, ya know?
A few rolls of duct tape also a few more rolls of duct tape.
Other than that it looks like your planning is working out well so far.
Oooh and some duct tape.
Good luck

reply to post by ignorant_ape

wake powered generator - not thier real name - and i dunno who makes them - but a very neat little thing i have seen - basically it looks lkie a tiny outboard motor with a oversized prop - that will power your onboad systems and recharge batteries while you are undersail - at the price of 0.5 kt or so

Yeah, that's what the Duo 2 does, takes the movement from the water and wind and converts to power. Still a bit iffy about them though till I see a good demo of them. Concerned about their durability and ability to repair if need be. Should see one working in the next few weeks.

g146541 - Thanks! I forgot about the duct tape! I'll add a few dozen rolls to my inventory! I have two laptops, one for dedicated ship navigation (interfaces with the radar), and one for anything else. Both are weather-proofed. Sadly, I won't have a net connection, but will be able to use the net when in ports like Port Vila, Honiara or elsewhere. I know this might seem controversial, but I won't be taking a Sat phone.

Firearms are just not my cup of tea, and can take down deer and pigs rather well with my bow. Just don't like guns!

Enjoy your time, and take a few journals with you. It would be nice for whomever finds your remains to know what all was happening, and how you did everything.

The last few pages would probably be far to obscene to be published! "**** this island, ******* fish goddamn stupid ******* sand why the **** can't those ******* seagulls leave me alone? Why the **** did I ******* do this? **** you all!" - or something along those lines. Sorry if I offended anyone with that outburst.


To all others - thanks for the suggestions so far - this is why I thought I'd publish this on here. I'll update my inventory list tonight with all your suggestions. Looks like I'll have to pull some overtime this week to pay for more stuff. It makes a big difference to hear other peoples opinions and keep em coming!

Cheers
Shane

Well if no net connection may I suggest many pics as they are what truly powers the intarwebs!
A few rolls ok I don't like travelling lightly but it is your fate!
No phone is not such a bad idea peeps would be callin ya askin hows ya holdin up and such, you would get nowhere that way.
But at least a gps beacon? I forgot about that one.
(Edit) about the guns issue, if you're not gonna carry I protest but you are the Captain I will respectfully shut up.
However be careful keep your head down and keep your arrows dry.
Arrowsn dry? does that even work that way? never mind.


[edit on 3-7-2010 by g146541]

Bear only needs a knife and a little rope...
You don't need all those products created by that oppressive "society".


[edit on 11-7-2010 by jeh2324]

Where will you go? Nowhere? Just hang out in the waterways of the world?

Aren't you concerned with loneliness?

reply to post by sodakota


Nah, I'm heading to a few islands I know in Melanesia. Have some good friends round there and will see how it goes after that. The tribe's in that area are awesomely nice people, once you get to know them. Especially if you can hunt and contribute.

Edit to add - jeh2324, you're not talking about Bear Grylls are you? Whatever you do, don't follow all of his advice!

Cheers
Shane

[edit on 11/7/10 by shamus78]

reply to post by shamus78


Hi Shamus,

You are the new McGuyver!

But can I ask you a question?

If the world becomes so wrecked that you have to run away, why would you want to live in such a world?

If the world comes to an end, there won't be anywhere to turn to.

Or maybe there will be survivors - but how do you know it will be in the Pacific?

Ok, that was two questions.

Magnifying glass.

Take a good magnifying glass or two. Comes in handy in many situations, particularly with foot injuries, extracting splinters, cactus spines, et cetera.

And, of course, when all your matches are wet and you have no other means of igniting a fire, the magnifying glass can do the job in a matter of seconds.

— Doc Velocity

reply to post by catwhoknows


Hi Catwhoknows,

Thanks for your good questions!

If the world becomes so wrecked that you have to run away, why would you want to live in such a world?

Because I have a drive to survive, even if it's not in the most pleasant of situations. When people give up, then they die.

Or maybe there will be survivors - but how do you know it will be in the Pacific?

Simple. I don't. But I know that the people there are some of the most resourceful people in the world.

Personally, I don't think the world is going to end. Some people have misinterpreted my views as being apocalyptic in nature. They're not. This is a personal challenge to me, not a complete severing of ties with everyone I know and love here in this society.

But if this society was going to go down the toilet, then I'd want to be far away from the citys and towns, far away from places where money has a greater importance then the ability to survive.

Maybe I should do a podcast to let people see me talk about it. I think that would help clear up some misconceptions.

Anyway thanks for the questions. Feel free to ask more if ya want.

Cheers
Shane

reply to post by shamus78


Thanks for the reply - good old OZ spirit.

I just have to say, you are braver than me.

Good luck!

Oh, and in addition to your reverse-osmosis filters, you might want to consider the very handy MSR Miniworks ceramic water filter. You can drop the intake hose in a stagnant, amoeba-infested pool of jungle sump and pump a liter of 99% pure water out of it in 5 minutes or less. Use an ultraviolet wand to kill the other 1% of cryptosporidium, if that worries you. I take the Miniworks everywhere I go — it's field serviceable, simple as hell, will save your life.

Let's see, what else?

OH, get a few Faraday flashlights, the ones you shake to charge 'em up. They come in very handy, have no batteries, last a long time.

Also, you might want to look at some of the FreePlay products, which are human-powered devices — radios, flashlights, and electric generators. I have the FreePlay Weza, which is a foot-pedal electric generator, supposedly can cold-crank an automobile (but I haven't tried that).

And, no, I don't work for any of these manufacturers or retailers. I'm just recommending products I have personally used.

— Doc Velocity





[edit on 7/11/2010 by Doc Velocity]

Thanks to all the input so far - all of you are awesome!

Doc Velocity - I've used the carbon water filers, and was thinking about them, but after reading up on the ceramic ones, then I will certainly be bringing some with me.

Everything you've all listed has been very useful and I just want to say thanks for your input. This is why I joined ATS.

Being home today gives me a good opportunity to compile another gear list.

Cheers
Shane