* * * * *
“Security may indeed be a large sailboat with Krugerrands for ballast”
Going through the last box of Dad's papers, Bunny found an extensive
collection of notes and drafts of a book Dad was trying to write back in
1982, titled Running Away To Sea. It seems the election of one Ronald Reagan
to the Presidency spooked Dad a bit and he started researching how to survive
“the badness” (as he called it) not by living off-grid in a shack in the
middle of Montana, but by living off-grid in a boat in the middle of the
Pacific.
> From the time one slips his mooring lines, he begins to put an
> insurmountable distance between himself and those who might try to take
> that which he has set aside for his family's survival. Once the ocean is
> reached, safety from the problems on land ceases to be an immediate
> consideration.
>
Until the pirates show up.
Okay, to be fair, I did find references and draft material covering the
problem of pirates, but I found his stance on a 12 gauge shotgun to be “more
accurate” than a hand gun to be questionable at best. “Accuracy” on a
rolling, pitching boat in the open water is going to be questionable,
regardless of choice of firearm.
There is correspondence with yatch manufactuers, blue prints, price
breakdowns (nearly $300,000 in 1982 dollars, making it nearly $800,000 in
today's dollars—ouch!) and scores of articles on everything related to
sailing. It also appears that Dad was trying to invent a new type of sail, as
there were drawings he did and correspondence with an engineering firm. I'm
not sure what I'll do with it all, but the blueprints are cool.
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