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Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

marineinsight.com

221–230 of 281 posts

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> how to force GHG emissions externalities to the polluters Not happening for decades. Not until America’s boomers, Xi and his wolf warriors and Putin and his circle are dead. Solar is a success because it’s economically viable. We need more solutions like that. Not conference presentations wrapping a regressive carbon tax as a sailboat.

Solar wasn't economical until China made the strategic decision to invest into cutting solar costs and scaling production up. Putin isn't relevant, nobody really listens to him (the reason why he is so mad). It's really the American boomers who are happy the cook the planet to own the libs. Taxing CO2 isn't regressive - poor people don't fly to vacations or commute in unnecessarily large single-occupancy trucks.

All consumption taxes are regressive.

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#222
post #5

I love that they're trying this. It appears the more practical goal might be retrofitting existing vessels with large sails to augment the motors, but making a point with a fully wind-powered vessel is a good show. Well, it would have been fully wind powered if not for the damaged sail. Good on them for sticking with the journey, though. I hope they keep running the vessel and get a few more fully wind powered journe…

It’s not as easy as throwing a sail on top of a boat. Having done a quite a bit of sailing on a yacht, the sail and its supports literally run from the top of the mast to the bottom of the keel.

I suspect for any great deal of efficiency gain you’d need a similar system on cargo ships to support the forces generated.

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#223
post #178
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first thing I thought when I saw the article was, I wonder if they have passenger service.

Many freighters have space for the 12 passengers they're allowed to carry before they get reclassified to passenger ship with all the post-Titanic SOLAS requirements those incur. The first 12 however are easy, they self-select to be low-maintenance, they just get their breakfast/lunch/dinner portion from the ship's cook, and have their cabin. A little electricity, reasonable running water, and they're contend. Essent…

The passenger capacity is mostly expected to be used by people related to the shipping industry, basically repositioning people the same way airlines do.

Like you'll have two guys being repositioned and another guy will be there with a clipboard and tasked with something.

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#224
post #123
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use it for luxury goods! "Why _my_ iphone arrived in Baltimore on a clean cargo ship, so yeah, ..." I am only half joking. Anything luxury of vanity related, just add the fact they've gotten to the consumer on a clean ship and you'll find some people to pay extra for it. The more expensive the better. They can brag about it to each other.

Bottom line: impressive optics, zero impact for this technology on global warming, it's a distraction.

I expect that it's much worse than zero impact. Don't forget that they've got to build and maintain the ship, feed the crew, and so forth. It seems likely that what they're not using in the actual propulsion of the ship, they're expending anyway - and then some - because they've lost the economies of scale of giant cargo ships.

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#225
post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering it's a roll-on/roll-off ship, they're this close to providing a transatlantic passenger+vehicle ferry service, which would really be fun.

I’ve been looking for a reasonable way to get me and my motorcycle to Europe and back (rentals of my bike are $300/day, and I want to ride off-road occasionally, which isn’t great for rentals). I’ve also always wanted to sail the ocean. This could be a win.

Often when you see people on TV doing "around the world" stuff, they actually buy separate motorcycles for each continent, often moving accessories and such over to the next bike. Given the logistical costs for such endevours, the extra bikes are not a big deal and bypass most all the registrarion/insurance issues.

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering it's a roll-on/roll-off ship, they're this close to providing a transatlantic passenger+vehicle ferry service, which would really be fun.

Interviews with CEO, where he stresses that the main problem is not sailing upwind but to get there on time. https://youtu.be/qhAlImSIDyU https://youtu.be/QfHJE1UwMTw Another contender https://youtu.be/xsFc3pro8Y8 (Also FR based, cultural reason?)

There's also Grain de Sail. Not only French, all these are from the region of Britanny, sailing is very cultural.

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#227
post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been looking for a reasonable way to get me and my motorcycle to Europe and back (rentals of my bike are $300/day, and I want to ride off-road occasionally, which isn’t great for rentals). I’ve also always wanted to sail the ocean. This could be a win.

Have You checked the validity of registration/insurance? I'm kinda curious about doing it the other way and trying some BDRs) maybe in a few years)

I regularly see groups of riders with European plates on their bikes, traveling up and down Highway 1 - a very scenic and twisty road up the California coast. So, it must be doable without too much problem.

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#228
post #178
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first thing I thought when I saw the article was, I wonder if they have passenger service.

Many freighters have space for the 12 passengers they're allowed to carry before they get reclassified to passenger ship with all the post-Titanic SOLAS requirements those incur. The first 12 however are easy, they self-select to be low-maintenance, they just get their breakfast/lunch/dinner portion from the ship's cook, and have their cabin. A little electricity, reasonable running water, and they're contend. Essent…

I have a friend who is a writer and he has taken passage on freighters a few times. He really liked it for getting work done.

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#229
post #197
post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Would they fit under bridges? You do realize that none of those ships could get into any port, right? We've made modifications to accommodate that. I tend to agree with you that putting a fixed sail on top of a container vessel won't fly. Maybe ships would need to be smaller. I think the size of ships was mostly increased because it makes it more efficient. But if fuel is free, you could have smaller ships take dir…

> I tend to agree with you that putting a fixed sail on top of a container vessel won't fly. Of course it won't, it's not an airplane.

Perhaps sardonically, sailboats do “fly” these days. Not literally, just terminology.

Re: Largest cargo sailboat completes first Atlantic crossing

#230

They have a passenger service too! €3200 for France Baltimore, 13 day trip. But with that you get three meals a day, a decent looking cabin, private bathroom, private balcony, and internet service (though how solid the connection is / what surcharges there may be is a question). ~€250/d doesn't sound too bad, and you could get work done along the way. Kind of sounds nice... https://www.voilasailcoop.fr/transatlantic/…

You get a glimpse of how dislocated from reality the HN crowd is when "€250/d doesn't sound too bad".
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