Bug Out Release Update

Some of you may have been looking for my book, Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It's Too Late to be available on Saturday, May 1st, as that was the publication date listed on Amazon and some other sites.  Everything was completed in time for the release, both by me and all the folks at Ulysses Press, but as sometimes happens in this business, there was a delay with the actual printing.

I found  out from my editor today that the books will ship to their warehouse on the 17th and should be available in stores on or around the 25th.  Those of you who pre-ordered through Amazon and other sites should be getting your copies around that time or shortly thereafter.  I'm excited about seeing the final product and hope that the information contained within will be of use to those of you who interested in doing all you can to prepare for survival.  I'll post any further updates here when I have them.

Gulf Oil Spill About to Wreak Havoc

Sunrise at Mississippi's Horn Island, across the Sound at Gulf Islands National Seashore.
(photo by Dick Dixon)

Ironically, I just recently wrote a feature article for SAIL magazine about the fantastic remote and unspoiled barrier islands and the Mississippi Sound that I consider one of the best sailing and cruising grounds on the Gulf.  The article is in the May issue of the magazine, which was just published days ago.  Here's a link to more about that piece that I posted on my other blog: Scott's Boat Pages.

And just a few minutes ago, I posted the tips Dave Sears sent on Unconventional Methods of Gathering Seafood.  Reading this really made me want to be out on the salt again right now, but I'm still a ways from completing the construction of my boat that will replace the one I lost in Hurricane Katrina. 

Unfortunately, all the sailing, fishing and escaping to beautiful uninhabited islands in this region appears to be coming to an end for an uncertain period of time.  The growing oil slick and the wind conditions that are spreading it our way leave little hope that this area and much larger areas of the Gulf will be spared from its impact.  I just corresponded with my friend, Dick Dixon, who took the photo above and who is an avid sailor and photographer based out of Pascagoula.  He informed me that his boat is indefinitely locked into the Pascagoula Inner Harbor, as it has been closed off with booms to try and prevent the oil from reaching the marshes of the estuary.   He also told me of another marina that is already price-gouging in advance of this impending disaster, asking tenants for a monthly fee equivalent to about 10 times that of other marinas in the area.  Time will tell how bad all this will be, but it's not looking good tonight.

Other (Unconventional) Seafood Gathering Methods

Dave Sears, a reader who commented recently on my post about bowfishing, has had some interesting experiences in collecting food from the sea.  He sent these seafood gathering tips via email.  These are new to me, and sound fascinating. Here's what he had to say in his own words:

Not being a writer (I am a retired tug captain with 43 years experience all over the world), I really don't know where one would post articles such as: on catching shrimp with a junniper bush and a cement block anchor. The shrimp are attracted to the junniper for some reason and their whiskers get entangled in the dense shrubbery. It's maybe illegal I think, since it's basically a shrimp trap.   You shake the shrimp out of the bush into your boat. Haven't shrimped this way for 50 years. LOL. 

Or how about a trot line for catching crabs. My uncle used to buy "bull"  lips from the slaughter house very cheap. Theyr'e super tuff as cows actually pinch off grass with their lips, not their teeth as does a horse (which needs de-sanding frequently). These "bull" lips are twisted into a 21 thread line 100 fathoms long, every couple feet. The trot line is deployed along a channel side with anchors (cement blocks) both ends. No buoys for others to steal it as they do crab traps on occasion. Cross bearings enable you to relocate and grapple up the line when you want. A spool such as used for keel rollers on boat trailers, mounted on a bolt welded to a C-clamp affixed to the gunwale of your craft is your line lifter/guide. As the line clears the water, the tenacious crab drops off the bait, but you have sufficient time to see if it's a fat Jimmy or a berry crab (female w/egg clusters). We would flip the desirables into the boat with an old tennis racket while the other person paddled. You don't need to run it daily like servicing traps. The crabs are free to come and go. In Florida it's legal to have one 5gal bucket of blue crabs per person with regular fishing licenses. I suspect my uncle took me along more for the xtra bucket of crabs than any other reason. LOL. 

My dad was a Tampa boy and used to make cochina stew from the tiny cochina clams. He'd boil the cochinas, strain the broth, add milk, butter, and oyster crackers. Only seasoning black pepper.  well, not exactly survival food if you already have luxuries like milk and butter. if you want to use these ideas, feel free. I'm sure you'd write em up better than I can.

Dave Sears


Thanks for the useful tips, Dave.  I look forward to trying that juniper bush "shrimp trap" someday.

Now the cochina clams Dave mentions are something I have tried.  On my long kayak trip down the west coast of Florida and through the Caribbean, I boiled up a pot of these tiny clams on more than one occasion.  On parts of the Florida Gulf Coast, you can scoop them up by the bucketful right at the edge of the surf line.  Boil them until they open, then use a toothpick or sharpened stick to eat them right out of the shell.  It takes a lot to make a meal, but they are great source of easily-obtained protein on the seashore.


By the way, I welcome useful reader tips like Dave's, so if you have something related to Bug Out Survival that you want to share and don't have your own blog on which to publish it, send it my way.