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TheChaosPath
Jul 22, 2005

Pudding Space posted:

All for personal choice, but it's always kind of sad that folks like you decide not to have children. That's the premise of Idiocracy. Dumb shits do nothing but breed. Imagine the experiences you could provide little people who actually have triple-digit IQs.

The problem here is that even if they do sell out a couple decades of their sweet-rear end lives to reproduce, they're likely just putting off the dead end another generation if they raise more bright, educated people. The long-term hope of survival of the human race is not in people capable of understanding the concept of return on investment.

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PT6A
Jan 5, 2006

Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Liar posted:

I know you can't let fear hold you back, but is your plan for a medical emergency while at sea to essentially die? Have you or your girlfriend taken any training to handle severe injuries?

There are services you can subscribe to that will outfit you with a variety of medical supplies, and then give you 24/7 access to a doctor who will walk you through anything up to and including an emergency appendectomy via the SSB radio (or maybe sat-phones/internet now).

photomikey
Dec 30, 2012
Really interesting TAL about medical needs and sailing gone-wrong from a few years back:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/525/call-for-help

a whole buncha crows
May 8, 2003

WHEN WE DON'T KNOW WHO TO HATE, WE HATE OURSELVES.-SA USER NATION (AKA ME!)
Awesome pictures op, you definitely took your home for a tour.

Kjeks
Feb 21, 2005

grumplestiltzkin posted:

There's been a lot of discussion about maintenance costs, but how much of that is paying for parts and how much is paying labor for someone else to do it for you? If someone has plenty of experience rebuilding pumps and other mechanical (and specifically naval) equipment, can you cut cost out by buying parts and doing work yourself?

Some people pay others to do all work and maintenance, other does all work themselves. It depends on how good you are at fixing things and how much money you have. We fix what we can ourselves, but have to hire people to do mechanical work, canvas, sails etc. It usually costs about $100 per hour.


Ytlaya posted:

What do you do to deal with boredom? Just read a bunch or something? It seems like just sitting on a boat for days would get a little tough.

Really interesting video, by the way.

We read books and play games on the tablet. Just sitting in the cockpit for days in and days out can be boring. Counting waves and stars is only entertaining for a while.


Liar posted:

I know you can't let fear hold you back, but is your plan for a medical emergency while at sea to essentially die? Have you or your girlfriend taken any training to handle severe injuries?

Also, how do you get the internet?

We had a short course in emergency training before we left. There are basically three options if you get severly injured at sea: 1) You fix it youself. 2) You call for help. A ship can usually reach you within 24 hours in most parts of the world where people sail. 3) You die.
We try to avoid number 3. Fortunately, we didn't have any accidents other than an infected knee, which we treated with antibiotics. In an emergency, you can always call radio medico on the satellite phone, and they will guide you the best they can. Getting severely injured at sea is always a risk you have to consider. Offshore cruising for weeks is not risk free. There are many horror stories. Just try to be careful.


Delivery McGee posted:

Any particular reason you went with a fuckton of half-liter water bottles instead of a couple of 5-gallon water-cooler bottles and a reusable bottle to drink from?

It's practical, and they fit under the floorboards. We also have a cockpit locker full of water bottles. Pouring water from a huge bottle into a small bottle in high seas isn't always easy. We bring all plastic with us to shore. No throwing plastic into the ocean. When sailing close to land, we usually buy gallon bottles and pour into reusable bottles.
The quality of water is very variable around the world, so we usually drink bottled water and use the tank water for dishes, washing ourselves, cooking etc. Some people drink tank water, though. It usually just tastes funny.

Eat Bum Zen
Jul 19, 2013

*mumbles*
Rated T for Teen

Pudding Space posted:

All for personal choice, but it's always kind of sad that folks like you decide not to have children. That's the premise of Idiocracy. Dumb shits do nothing but breed. Imagine the experiences you could provide little people who actually have triple-digit IQs.

Can't you rig up an inflatable that you can tow the rotten little bastards on until they're ready to be deposited on land? Or lay fertilised eggs in the sand like turtles?

Ew this is a gross post.

Congrats on boating though, you must make a time of money

BarbarianElephant
Feb 12, 2015
The fairy of forgiveness has removed your red text.

Pudding Space posted:

All for personal choice, but it's always kind of sad that folks like you decide not to have children. That's the premise of Idiocracy. Dumb shits do nothing but breed. Imagine the experiences you could provide little people who actually have triple-digit IQs.

Idiocracy is bullshit and disturbingly eugenic. Hate that movie. World population is 7 billion and rising. Breeding is not compulsory (and I say this as a parent.)

This is a cute thread and I was enjoying the pics of beaches and stuff until you put your "oar" in.

photomikey
Dec 30, 2012
You don't have to make a ton of money to do what OP does. You just have to live on half (or less) of whatever you make. That is rare in today's society, but totally possible, and you would be able to be on vacation 50% of the time. The one caveat being that you would have to find a new job every other year, but even that isn't insurmountable.

mom and dad fight a lot
Sep 21, 2006

If you count them all, this sentence has exactly seventy-two characters.

Pudding Space posted:

All for personal choice, but it's always kind of sad that folks like you decide not to have children. That's the premise of Idiocracy. Dumb shits do nothing but breed. Imagine the experiences you could provide little people who actually have triple-digit IQs.

Jesus christ, Mom. I don't loving care if you want grandkids.

Anne Whateley
Feb 11, 2007
:unsmith: i like nice words

photomikey posted:

You don't have to make a ton of money to do what OP does. You just have to live on half (or less) of whatever you make. That is rare in today's society, but totally possible, and you would be able to be on vacation 50% of the time. The one caveat being that you would have to find a new job every other year, but even that isn't insurmountable.
The other caveats being you need $100k+ to start playing, and that half of your income has to be significantly more than $1250/mo. It seems like a lot of fun (and work) for sure, but that's insurmountable for most people.

photomikey
Dec 30, 2012
Interested to hear OP's take on "$100k+". There are lots of sailboats in the $10k-$35k range. I don't know if they're reliable enough to get you across the ocean. I was 33% and then 50% partner in a 25' Catalina that was worth south of $10k and had plenty of fun on it, but seldom got out of range of shore.

Anne Whateley
Feb 11, 2007
:unsmith: i like nice words
I just used his figure. I'm not sure you can really do what he does with much less.

Kjeks posted:

The boat itself cost about $100,000 with upgrades.

photomikey
Dec 30, 2012
I would have no hesitancy bouncing up and down the coast, or really anywhere within a few miles of shore, on my $10k piece of poo poo sailboat. There may be a huge gap between it and the kind of boat you would circumnavigate the globe in, but IMHO the point is could you do it starting with $10k and a year's salary instead of $100k and a year's salary, and IMHO the answer is yes you could. You'd have all of North and South America. If you crossed at the bering strait (50 miles), you'd then have all of Asia and Europe and Africa. You don't need to be independently wealthy to do this. You just need to be smart with money.

Ytlaya
Nov 13, 2005

photomikey posted:

I would have no hesitancy bouncing up and down the coast, or really anywhere within a few miles of shore, on my $10k piece of poo poo sailboat. There may be a huge gap between it and the kind of boat you would circumnavigate the globe in, but IMHO the point is could you do it starting with $10k and a year's salary instead of $100k and a year's salary, and IMHO the answer is yes you could. You'd have all of North and South America. If you crossed at the bering strait (50 miles), you'd then have all of Asia and Europe and Africa. You don't need to be independently wealthy to do this. You just need to be smart with money.

Does your boat have a house in it also (I'm assuming it at least has someplace to sleep)?

Also, even having $10k + a year's salary set aside is way beyond the budget of most young people. I think the median personal income for people over 25 is around ~$35,000/yr, and when you consider that younger people tend to make less money than older people you're definitely looking at a minority of people who could put that kind of money aside (at least within just a few years). I make right around that much money, and under normal circumstances (no unexpected big expenses, for example) I could save that much, but I'm definitely in a better position than your average ~30 year old. I mean, you certainly don't need to be wealthy, but it's definitely not something most people could afford.

Pudding Space posted:

All for personal choice, but it's always kind of sad that folks like you decide not to have children. That's the premise of Idiocracy. Dumb shits do nothing but breed. Imagine the experiences you could provide little people who actually have triple-digit IQs.

Can't you rig up an inflatable that you can tow the rotten little bastards on until they're ready to be deposited on land? Or lay fertilised eggs in the sand like turtles?

I like how everyone always assumes that they're not a member of the "dumb public" and that it's people other than them who shouldn't be reproducing. My dad is probably about as average as a person can get intelligence-wise and loves that movie (as well as some book called "Idiot America" that I haven't read but that apparently has a similar "people other than me are so stupid!" theme).

I really dislike Idiocracy (or at least most peoples' interpretation of it) because it's total bullshit that people are becoming more stupid (the opposite is actually true). It also has a pretty big classist angle to it; people always talk about how conservatives hate the poor, but I think the same thing is true of many liberals, only it manifests as them thinking the poor are dumb instead of lazy.

photomikey
Dec 30, 2012
You'd fit right in in the A/T millennial thread.

Yes. Setting aside $10k is a lot to ask of someone fresh out of school to do in a year. I think that perhaps sailing around the world unassisted is not a good idea for someone who is 22. It would probably take until 30 to get the money and WISDOM to be able to do this. Someone with $10k to dedicate probably wouldn't have as nice of a boat as someone who had $100k. Work harder, I guess.

Kjeks
Feb 21, 2005

photomikey posted:

You don't have to make a ton of money to do what OP does. You just have to live on half (or less) of whatever you make. That is rare in today's society, but totally possible, and you would be able to be on vacation 50% of the time. The one caveat being that you would have to find a new job every other year, but even that isn't insurmountable.

photomikey posted:

Interested to hear OP's take on "$100k+". There are lots of sailboats in the $10k-$35k range. I don't know if they're reliable enough to get you across the ocean. I was 33% and then 50% partner in a 25' Catalina that was worth south of $10k and had plenty of fun on it, but seldom got out of range of shore.

photomikey posted:

You'd fit right in in the A/T millennial thread.

Yes. Setting aside $10k is a lot to ask of someone fresh out of school to do in a year. I think that perhaps sailing around the world unassisted is not a good idea for someone who is 22. It would probably take until 30 to get the money and WISDOM to be able to do this. Someone with $10k to dedicate probably wouldn't have as nice of a boat as someone who had $100k. Work harder, I guess.

There seems to be a lot of interest in the financial aspect of sailing for a year or more. I'll try to clear things up a bit.

First of all: the budget required for a trip is very variable and highly individual. It boils down to how much comfort you require or can afford. Our boat is what I would call average among cruisers. It's 41 feet, almost 18 years old and has decent equipment. It has plenty of room for two people, and all that we need to cruise comfortably. Then there are of course the people who sail around in very small boats, and those who cruise around in 60+ feet catamarans. Take this guy for example. He has a very small, almost open boat without motor or fridge. He sailed across the Atlantic. We saw him and his boat in the Caribbean.
So you can sail around in a very small/cheap/simple boat. But most people appreciate a certain amount of comfort when cruising.

That being said: cruising is mainly a hobby for people from rich western countries. I guess 90 per cent of the boats we saw on our way came from perhaps 15-20 countries in Western Europe, Canada and USA. My philosophy is that we are fortunate enough to be born in one of these countries, so we should be thankful for that and make the best out of it. Go travel. See the world. Most people on the earth can only dream of doing such a thing, but we almost take it for granted. So don't waste the opportunity you have been giving by pure luck.

Back story on the specifics on our financial situation: My girlfriend moved into my (old) boat five years ago. After a couple of years, we decided we had to upgrade the boat to a newer, safer and bigger one. I sold the old boat for $12,000 and she sold her old flat and made a $80,000 profit. That was just enough for us to buy our new boat. We were then completely broke, but owned a boat. Then we spent the next year and a half saving everything we could. Two incomes, hardly any living expenses, no mortgage and no kids made it possible for us to save up about $60,000. Plus, we got a bit of financial support from our parents at the very end of the journey.

We met many young people, much younger than us, who had bought a boat for around $10,000 and lived on a much tighter budget. That meant no eating out at restaurants, no drunken parties at bars, and no cold beer on board the boat (limited electricity, no fridge). Many young people, specially here in Norway, use to take a year off after high school to cruise to the Caribbean and back. We met many in their early 20's on our way. But the majority of people cruising for many years are actually retired or make money from business back home.

Most important: If you want to go cruising, set a goal and a date, and be focused on achieving that. If there's a will, there's a way. And not many people can afford a luxury 50-60 ft. boat when they are young. Forget that.

Oh, and some more pictures for those interested :)

Arriving St. Lucia after 17 days at sea:


A small whale between Portugal and Gran Canaria:


No wind. Motoring on a flat Atlantic ocean.


A thousand year old castle on Isle of Man in the Irish sea:


Hanging out with some local guys in St. Lucia:


An anchorage in Grenada:


Passing St. Vincent:


A local rasta guy keeping it real:


Moored for the night:


Snorkeling under the boat:


Early morning in a sheltered bay in Trinidad:


Stocking up with beer and wine!


A local guy coming out to the boat to sell fruit and vegetables. Lots of these around:


The view from cockpit pretty much every evening:


On our way back to the boat, probably after visiting a bar:


A typical Caribbean grocery store/bar:


Ship traffic in New York:

Kjeks fucked around with this message at 13:19 on Sep 8, 2016

mom and dad fight a lot
Sep 21, 2006

If you count them all, this sentence has exactly seventy-two characters.

Kjeks posted:

A small whale between Portugal and Gran Canaria:


Your photos are spectacular, but this is especially amazing.

Pudding Space
Mar 19, 2014

Ytlaya posted:

I like how everyone always assumes that they're not a member of the "dumb public" and that it's people other than them who shouldn't be reproducing. My dad is probably about as average as a person can get intelligence-wise and loves that movie (as well as some book called "Idiot America" that I haven't read but that apparently has a similar "people other than me are so stupid!" theme).

I really dislike Idiocracy (or at least most peoples' interpretation of it) because it's total bullshit that people are becoming more stupid (the opposite is actually true). It also has a pretty big classist angle to it; people always talk about how conservatives hate the poor, but I think the same thing is true of many liberals, only it manifests as them thinking the poor are dumb instead of lazy.

No one cares about your super-serious reaction to a comedy film. Obviously I'm just pointing out that getting to see the world like that would be an awesome childhood experience. I might not be entirely serious about eugenics in a loving SA discussion about living on a boat. Or laying fertilised human eggs in the sand. You wanker.

Pudding Space
Mar 19, 2014


Oh man, your girl is chumming the water for big game! For some reason it freaks me out knowing there are hundreds of metres, or possibly kilometres to the ocean floor, despite the fact I could just as easily drown in 2 metres of water if I was exhausted. The idea that you might get up in really rough seas to find yourself alone on deck... gently caress. Are you tethered on deck in rough waters when the other one is sleeping?

I know you talked about falling asleep through exhaustion, but for practical reasons, do you have any pharmaceuticals for sleep? Melatonin for regulation, etc.? This might seem like an odd question, but how long can you go with short sleep shifts and running on adrenaline? Have you hit a point where you realised you weren't thinking straight, or making good decisions?

Tony Montana
Aug 6, 2005

by FactsAreUseless
That's him, not his girl.

Also if you're actually working all day, sleep I don't think will be his problem. Not being able to sleep or sleep disruptions are mostly the domain of rich white folk staying up too late on their computers and spending the day at their computer job without any real exercise. I can imagine the OP passes out pretty much as soon as he lays down, most nights.

It sounds fantastic. My current partners ex-husband is the World Champion for some specific boat, but the point is they were a hardcore sailing family. She went around the world in some tiny sailboat when she was pregnant, she has always said how she would drop it all in a heartbeat for that life again. I don't know if I wouldn't get bored.. eventually.. but it would be a good year or two until I was.

Bobbie Wickham
Apr 13, 2008

by Smythe

Anne Whateley posted:

The other caveats being you need $100k+ to start playing, and that half of your income has to be significantly more than $1250/mo. It seems like a lot of fun (and work) for sure, but that's insurmountable for most people.

People can get mortgages for boats, you know. I mean, the OP didn't go that route, but other people totally could. You gotta think about it in the same terms as you would a house, not least because the OP's boat is his house. Upkeep on a boat is going to be comparable to upkeep on a house--some years you spend a lot of money fixing/replacing stuff, and some years you don't.

My sister just moved into a boat in NYC for a few weeks, but it isn't anywhere near as cool as how you're rocking it, Kjerks, which is a shame. But it's docked, there will be no traveling, and it doesn't sound as nice as your boat. Anyway, this thread is really interesting, and your pictures are awesome. I don't think I could live that way forever, but it looks tempting to try.

ljw1004
Jan 18, 2005

rum
Those are fantastic experiences.

In cases where the two of you are sitting on your swim platform -- I'm scared that if a rogue wave comes, or a rogue squall that knocks you both off into the water, then the boat will just keep on sailing by itself and you two will never be able to catch it up. Is that a real worry?

Asimov
Feb 15, 2016

Yes, you are likely to die if everyone accidentally falls off the boat and nobody is left piloting. It's not going to wait for you, and even a circling sailboat in calm ocean is difficult to climb back aboard. Cold waters are even more dangerous, it doesn't take long before your life is at risk, even after you are pulled back on board.

e: Perhaps in these modern times you could have a remote switch to deploy boat-stopping countermeasures in case you were swept overboard, but that's beyond my experience. Respect the ocean and its power, yo.

Asimov fucked around with this message at 08:38 on Sep 23, 2016

Kjeks
Feb 21, 2005

Pudding Space posted:



Oh man, your girl is chumming the water for big game! For some reason it freaks me out knowing there are hundreds of metres, or possibly kilometres to the ocean floor, despite the fact I could just as easily drown in 2 metres of water if I was exhausted. The idea that you might get up in really rough seas to find yourself alone on deck... gently caress. Are you tethered on deck in rough waters when the other one is sleeping?

I know you talked about falling asleep through exhaustion, but for practical reasons, do you have any pharmaceuticals for sleep? Melatonin for regulation, etc.? This might seem like an odd question, but how long can you go with short sleep shifts and running on adrenaline? Have you hit a point where you realised you weren't thinking straight, or making good decisions?

It's illegal to go on deck if you're alone in rough seas. And I prefer that my GF is tethered to the boat if she's alone in the cockpit at night. Only then can I sleep well. Finding a person in the sea after several hours, specially at night, is next to hopeless.

We try to sleep when we can. The more people on board, the more free time. I've never been totally exhausted, but the biggest problem is usually to sleep when the boat is rolling a lot. It's like sleeping in a tumble dryer. When we sail alone, it happens that we both sleep at the same time, and use radar + AIS + autopilot to keep watch and steer the boat.

Bobbie Wickham posted:

People can get mortgages for boats, you know. I mean, the OP didn't go that route, but other people totally could. You gotta think about it in the same terms as you would a house, not least because the OP's boat is his house. Upkeep on a boat is going to be comparable to upkeep on a house--some years you spend a lot of money fixing/replacing stuff, and some years you don't.

Yes, you can get a mortgage on a boat, but most banks are reluctant to do that. Either way, you'll probably end up with a much higher interest rate. And you are correct on the upkeep bit. We don't have to do anything to the boat now, but next year we have to shell out a couple of thousands.

ljw1004 posted:

Those are fantastic experiences.

In cases where the two of you are sitting on your swim platform -- I'm scared that if a rogue wave comes, or a rogue squall that knocks you both off into the water, then the boat will just keep on sailing by itself and you two will never be able to catch it up. Is that a real worry?

Yes. If we fall in to the water, we are pretty much doomed. The boat will continue on auto pilot until it crash into land somewhere in the distance. We only sit on the swim platform in calm weather. Rouge waves doesn't just just show up that sudden if the weather is this calm. I rate the risk slightly lower than crossing the street.


Some more pics.





















Kjeks fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Sep 24, 2016

Monolith.
Jan 28, 2011

To save the world from the expanding Zone.
This is a cool thread and yall are blessed. Please post more pics.

Spoggerific
May 28, 2009
What kind of camera do you have? I'm particularly interested in how you got the underwater pictures.

IndianaZoidberg
Aug 21, 2011

My name isnt slick, its Zoidberg. JOHN F***ING ZOIDBERG!

Kjeks posted:

No wind. Motoring on a flat Atlantic ocean.



That brings back memories. I used to work on a cruise ship and on one trip we were crossing the Atlantic and the sea was just like it is in that photo. Something about it really freaked me out. It just didn't seem right. :tinfoil:

MettleRamiel
Jun 29, 2005
I have a friend who lives on a boat. It's moored most of the time and only ever leaves the dock for weekend trips.

She makes her money by selling clothes that she makes or alters, but there's not a lot of room on a boat for sewing so she has a space in my basement she uses.

She also has nowhere to park her car, so she parks it at her sister's place a few blocks from her boat.

The boat toilet is not working properly so she uses the McDonald's a few blocks away.

The dock has a shared laundry but it's usually full so she does most of her laundry at her parent's or at my place.

Her boyfriend also has no parking for his van so he leaves it at his parent's house and recently bought a broken van to work on which he leaves parked at my friend's parent's house a half hour away.

They used to use the free wifi provided by a coffee shop close by but something happened with the signal a few months ago cutting them off so now, more often than not, I come home and instead of working, I'll find her downstairs with her laptop watching Game of Thrones.

She really needs an apartment.

working mom
Jul 8, 2015

MettleRamiel posted:

I have a friend who lives on a boat. It's moored most of the time and only ever leaves the dock for weekend trips.

She makes her money by selling clothes that she makes or alters, but there's not a lot of room on a boat for sewing so she has a space in my basement she uses.

She also has nowhere to park her car, so she parks it at her sister's place a few blocks from her boat.

The boat toilet is not working properly so she uses the McDonald's a few blocks away.

The dock has a shared laundry but it's usually full so she does most of her laundry at her parent's or at my place.

Her boyfriend also has no parking for his van so he leaves it at his parent's house and recently bought a broken van to work on which he leaves parked at my friend's parent's house a half hour away.

They used to use the free wifi provided by a coffee shop close by but something happened with the signal a few months ago cutting them off so now, more often than not, I come home and instead of working, I'll find her downstairs with her laptop watching Game of Thrones.

She really needs an apartment.

At that stage, all you are getting is a bed that rocks with the waves

Eccles
Feb 6, 2010
I'm guessing that motion sickness isn't a problem for either of you. If it was, how did or do you overcome it?

ljw1004
Jan 18, 2005

rum

Eccles posted:

I'm guessing that motion sickness isn't a problem for either of you. If it was, how did or do you overcome it?

(not the OP but) motion sickness is terrible for me - I get motion sick on a swing at the playground when I take my kid there; I get motion sick on a boat; I get motion sick within 10 seconds in VR unless it uses "teleport-to-move". But I've been on many boat trips, and the motion sickness goes away by itself after 3 days.

Blackchamber
Jan 25, 2005

ljw1004 posted:

(not the OP but) motion sickness is terrible for me - I get motion sick on a swing at the playground when I take my kid there; I get motion sick on a boat; I get motion sick within 10 seconds in VR unless it uses "teleport-to-move". But I've been on many boat trips, and the motion sickness goes away by itself after 3 days.

True facts. I get horrible motion sickness and was not looking forward to spending over 3 months doing work ups (off and on shakedowns of the ship) before doing 9 or so months at sea on a ship in the Navy. I would always get super seasick the day and a half after we left any port but luckily I never had to work right away on those days. The rest of the time I was fine.

GORDON
Jan 1, 2006

by Fluffdaddy
Love your pics, and I think you're living a cool life. You have an adventurous spirit. Props.

What I am wondering is about security. I understand that one isn't allowed to arm themselves in international waters.... is that correct? This is why so many freighters get hijacked, all they can do is spray water at pirates approaching them with mounted 50 cals.

If that is correct, what is to keep a group of bad guys from rowboating out into one of those remote coves you anchor in at night, stabbing like 5 different boats full of people, robbing them, and then rowboating away? They've got to know you have a fistful of cash for provisions.

grumplestiltzkin
Jun 7, 2012

Ass, gas, or grass. No one rides for free.

photomikey posted:

I would have no hesitancy bouncing up and down the coast, or really anywhere within a few miles of shore, on my $10k piece of poo poo sailboat. There may be a huge gap between it and the kind of boat you would circumnavigate the globe in, but IMHO the point is could you do it starting with $10k and a year's salary instead of $100k and a year's salary, and IMHO the answer is yes you could. You'd have all of North and South America. If you crossed at the bering strait (50 miles), you'd then have all of Asia and Europe and Africa. You don't need to be independently wealthy to do this. You just need to be smart with money.

If you think taking a boat which is not open ocean worthy by the bering strait is a good idea, I hope that you decide to do it. You know those crab fisherman up near Alaska that frequently die because of the insanely harsh sea states that are common up there? Yeah, guess where the bering strait is.

JnnyThndrs
May 29, 2001

HERE ARE THE FUCKING TOWELS

GORDON posted:

Love your pics, and I think you're living a cool life. You have an adventurous spirit. Props.

What I am wondering is about security. I understand that one isn't allowed to arm themselves in international waters.... is that correct? This is why so many freighters get hijacked, all they can do is spray water at pirates approaching them with mounted 50 cals.

You can arm yourself in international waters all you want as long as you comply with the laws of the country your vessel is registered to. So if you're a US vessel flying a US flag, you can carry whatever firearms are US legal(most of them).

The hassle is when you come into port, now you're bound by the laws of whatever country you're in, and many countries are really hinky about guns(quite understandably). In some cases you can declare them and show the weapon/ammo is locked away securely, other times you have to store the weapon/ammo in a locked customs area, and I'm sure there's other policies that I'm not aware of, including 'GTFO OF OUR COUNTRY WITH YOUR GUN'. It ends up a real clusterfuck so many people don't bother.

AFAIK, those tankers and container ships are unarmed by company policy and insurance regulations, as well as the laws of whatever nation they're registered to.

photomikey
Dec 30, 2012

grumplestiltzkin posted:

If you think taking a boat which is not open ocean worthy by the bering strait is a good idea, I hope that you decide to do it. You know those crab fisherman up near Alaska that frequently die because of the insanely harsh sea states that are common up there? Yeah, guess where the bering strait is.
Great reading comprehension. That's exactly what I meant. Navigating the Bering Strait in a $10k jalope sailboat in February, dodging icebergs and 100 knot winds and rain and hail and snow blowing horizontal.

Not, you know, busting across a 50 mile strait in July in warm waters and calm winds, staying otherwise within a few miles of shore, IN LINE WITH THE REST OF MY POST.

GORDON
Jan 1, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

JnnyThndrs posted:

You can arm yourself in international waters all you want as long as you comply with the laws of the country your vessel is registered to. So if you're a US vessel flying a US flag, you can carry whatever firearms are US legal(most of them).

The hassle is when you come into port, now you're bound by the laws of whatever country you're in, and many countries are really hinky about guns(quite understandably). In some cases you can declare them and show the weapon/ammo is locked away securely, other times you have to store the weapon/ammo in a locked customs area, and I'm sure there's other policies that I'm not aware of, including 'GTFO OF OUR COUNTRY WITH YOUR GUN'. It ends up a real clusterfuck so many people don't bother.

AFAIK, those tankers and container ships are unarmed by company policy and insurance regulations, as well as the laws of whatever nation they're registered to.

I wasn't aware of that. I think I heard some bad info years ago and just never heard otherwise. Thanks.

TCD
Nov 13, 2002

Every step, a fucking adventure.

photomikey posted:

Great reading comprehension. That's exactly what I meant. Navigating the Bering Strait in a $10k jalope sailboat in February, dodging icebergs and 100 knot winds and rain and hail and snow blowing horizontal.

Not, you know, busting across a 50 mile strait in July in warm waters and calm winds, staying otherwise within a few miles of shore, IN LINE WITH THE REST OF MY POST.

I think the summer water temps are still like, high 30 or 40F. Also, due to the shallowness of the straight you can still get some crazy wave action - even during summer.

Also, there's custom stuff.

quote:

How do you cross the Bering Strait legally?

This is very difficult. Not only is it necessary to arrive in Russia in an official port of call, but it is also necessary to depart from an official port of call. We have not heard of any adventurers who have received permission to arrive or depart from the remote shoreline of Russia.



Is it possible to cross from Alaska to Russia legally?

Yes, but not via the Bering Strait. It is possible to depart from Alaska outside of a port of call (a community that has customs and immigration processing facilities), but you must arrive in an official port in Russia. The closest official port to the Bering Strait in Russia’s Far East is Providenia. The distance across the Bering Sea from Alaska to Providenia is 400 km. This stretch is broken by St. Lawrence Island (American) which lies 200 km out from Alaska. The island is 125 km long, and it is 75 km from Russia.

A crossing via this route would necessitate the ability to navigate 200 km of open stormy water. It is also necessary to receive permission from the Russian government to arrive in Providenia in a small boat (a process which takes about a year).
http://www.angusadventures.com/adventurer-handbook/beringstrait/

jennabelle
Sep 29, 2016

A White Guy posted:

So, your boat's 100k value. Ten grand per year for maintenance plus harbor fees = 1,083 dollar per months on 'rent'. I can see some definite advantages to boat living, but you're basically paying a stupendously high amount of money for a moveable 1 bedroom apartment.

I was thinking the same thing, but the advantage is that you're able to go anywhere you want

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champagne posting
Apr 5, 2006

YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

jennabelle posted:

I was thinking the same thing, but the advantage is that you're able to go anywhere you want

That is if you have the luxury of being able to actually go.

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