Andromeda Strain Ocean Survival Challenge

[owly]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

We did this discussion a month ago.


In fact a modern boat IS perfect for months or more offshore. Forget the electronics and motor, those one can do without. The entire boat is fiberglass so will last forever. Plastic tarps and light sails feed rain water to dedicated storage tanks. They’re fast, and only an idiot can be blown ashore, unlike the old square riggers. Plastic boats are a lot of maintenance to keep Bristol, zero maintenance in a survival situation.

Cut a couple meters off any old line and you have years of fishing line. I’m sure everyone can find metal for hooks and spears, if they’re not already aboard. Solar cookers work well in many areas.

What else would one need? All the same, I’d rather do the Castaway thing if I had to be remote. Oh, I have. I don’t mind a bit of solitude. Hey, somebody told me malls, bowling alleys and restaurants were closed because of COVID! Is that true?

What would your criteria be for designing a boat for this mission? I would want a catamaran for the abundant opens space on the bridge deck, and fairly flat ride. I would want a rig that didn't require lots of expensive hardware, preferably one with free standing mast(s), thus eliminating dozens of failure prone components from chainplates all the way up. I would want tabernacle mounted mast(s) that could be laid down... perhaps a lightening strategy... The ability to cook with solar, a good rain capture system. I would want a way to catch fish beyond just mindlessly dragging a line through the water. As this would probably be a group endeavor... it would be foolish to do it with only one or two boats, a net system might be called for. A grow chamber with a lexan spray cover to grow foods to stave off scurvy.
Lithium batteries make electric things more practical than they were in the past, but electrical systems are vulnerable to corrosion and to lightening, so excessive dependence on electricity would be a mistake, particularly as you would probably be spending a lot of time in the ITCZ to avoid cyclones, though the South Atlantic is probably the safest choice of anywhere in that regard.

A community of people critical skills would need to be assembled. People who were skilled at repairing fiberglass, plywood, steel, electrical, etc, along with the tools and equipment and materials. Medical and dental professionals. People who were naturally skilled at fishing, horticulture........ "bankers, realtors, and lawyers need not apply ;-)". Ironically the best paid professions are often the most useless.


I think it's entirely possible....... if a more than a little bit unrealistic to establish a community of "sea people" to steal a term from recently departed James Wharram, as a survival unit for an extended period of time......... but how long? 2 years, 10 years? Obviously not indefinitely, as boats are dependent on resources not found at sea. So long as there is community, food, water, and shelter, humans can exist anywhere indefinitely. The weak point is the equipment.



This means that at some point someone must take on the risk of forays ashore. A necessity though it risks putting the entire community at risk. Careful choice of the locations would be critical. Boat repairs would be a challenge. The only options would be to careen in some remote place......northern AU with it's extreme tides and low to no population would be ideal for this. Multihull boats and bilge keelers would be the best boat choices considering that there would be no travel lifts.
Other options would be the BC and south Alaska coast, The Darien gap / Panama / Columbia, and some parts of East Africa. BC/Alaska offers excellent quality wood for masts, etc..... but I don't know of any fiberglass / epoxy trees anywhere ;-)

[goboatingnow]

I see no positive perspective that suggests living on a boat in such circumstances is better then on land.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by owly

...A community of people critical skills would need to be assembled...

Good post summarizing the possibilities. I excerpted the quote above because I think that is where this sort of discussion inevitably leads. I posted the Waterworld image above because the "Atoll" (makeshift floating city) in that movie was my first thought after pondering the OP.

Of course, there are already remote communities on land. And many didn't fare well with COVID. It would seem any interaction with outsiders is a risk. And of course, a successful isolated community (on land or water) would quickly become a sought-after destination if people were desperate enough. Which goes against the whole idea of isolation.

I saw it first hand. I live in a tourist town. Generally only locals are here in the early spring. But when the lockdowns hit in March of 2020, we were inundated with people "from away," here to open up their vacation homes and rent hotel rooms and cottages to get away from their crowded cities. Basically, they made us into exactly the kind of place they were trying to get away from. Our local stores weren't stocked for the sudden and massive increase in population, and we had trouble getting essential food and supplies.