Hi from aboard Beleza in Faro, Portugal

[bazonbeleza]

Hi all you intrepid folks, I'm Baz, my boats Blezeza, hence the username

I was researching supplies for restocking my liveaboard boat, and it somehow lead me to your wonderful site. I've read through a fair number of the posts here and I am surprised at the similarity between yourselves and us yachties that go of on our own or with a small crew for months or years at end. We have to take everything with us so have solved many of the issues of fuel, power, water, stocking food and self determination, we also have the ultimate bug out, we just up anchor!

I've been calculating food needs for two for a years trip with limited local purchases and found Mountain House products that looked interesting but expensive, more of a gourmet alternative to tuna pasta, if anyone has any experience of this product I'd love to hear it.

Water for passages always has been an issue, I carry about half a tonne which lasts two of us about a month for cooking washing and drinking, but one problem is the single tank, if that springs a leak we're stuffed so preps are in hand to design and instal a desalination watermaker of 40 gal per hour, bits will cost about £1500 but thats a fraction of the cost of a commercial version Loos are sea water flush.

If anybody has any questions about wind power generation, solar power generation I'm sure I could add something useful.

[preppingsu]

Hello and welcome form the forum.
It will be good to get a different prepping perspective so feel free to post anything you think we land lovers might find useful!

I guess you see many things on your travels. Do you get a feel for what's going on around the world?

[bazonbeleza]

Hi, I guess with my boat being in Portugal at the moment I see the economy is going downhill a bit and as a consequence there is more officialdom, police and customs stops of foreign boats, all in order to gather more taxes by way of fines for minor infringements from 'wealthy Yachties', leads to a downhill spiral I'm afraid so I'll be heading south to the canaries and then west to Brazil this autumn, thus money lost to the Portugese economy.

A lot of talk on the Yachting fora on the state of the economy both in UK and Europe, Greece and Spain in particular and how its affecting liveaboards there with alternatives being mooted. We are fortunate because if we don't like it, we move elsewhere. I personally feel that this present situation cannot continue and will end in a depression of thirties magnitude and probably civil disturbances of a like I do not wish to sample at first hand. I hope I'm wrong.

Prepping on land differs little from what I do on the boat, I store food and water, I generate electricity by various means, I have wind to eke out the diesel, I could grow salad veg if I chose but as yet do not. I fish, and forage. I have all the comforts of home and few of the drawbacks.

[C4tch]

Welcome friend.


C

[Moony]

I've been calculating food needs for two for a years trip with limited local purchases and found Mountain House products that looked interesting but expensive, more of a gourmet alternative to tuna pasta, if anyone has any experience of this product I'd love to hear it.

MH products are expensive because they're expected to last a minimum of 20 years on your shelf, not necessarily because they are 'gourmet' ! If you are looking for food stocks that you intend to eat within 12 months, rather than keep as emergency supplies for 20 yrs, I'd look elsewhere for alot cheaper alternatives. Plenty of posts on here to point you in the right direction i hope.

[maxilaura]

hello and welcome

[smileyt]

Hi and welcome.

I'm a total landlubber - I cannot imagine being on a boat. The sea terrifies me and has done since I was a teenager and went swimming off the coast of Wales and felt the current and undertow. I wasn't far out and managed to get back OK, but ever since then I have been scared. You have my respect!

[Rosesandtea]

Hi and welcome.

[bazonbeleza]

Hi and welcome.

I'm a total landlubber - I cannot imagine being on a boat. The sea terrifies me and has done since I was a teenager and went swimming off the coast of Wales and felt the current and undertow. I wasn't far out and managed to get back OK, but ever since then I have been scared. You have my respect!

Hi Smleyt

Thanks for that, let me tell you I'm not too keen on being in the water either, I can swim but I prefer to keep the 'oggin on the outside of the the hull. Like driving a car, you would'nt want walk down a motorway.

[Malamute Mitch]

Hi Baz I've noticed a couple of your posts seems we seem to be prepped in much the same way do you get back to UK waters?

Bought a much smaller 24v reverse-osmosis water purification system a while back, about £300. Always wondered have efficient it would be for de-salination . Avoided playing due to cost of filters, think i'll have to have a go, also have a PUR hand desalinator for emergencies but bloody hard work to use. What inverters do you use, I'm currently running a victron phoenix but thinking of buying a back up.

MH foods excellent especially the meat products chilli, really good where weight is an issue . If space an issue you can go with pouches although these have a much shorter shelf life. Alot cheaper on the other side of the pond!! Nido dried whole milk powder superb. Also tinned butter and cheese now available in EU but have not found any in uk yet.

Good luck and fine weather.