Maybe HN will like this, 100 Rabbits.
https://100r.co/site/home.html
It is a mix of sailing, low tech, art.
Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
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Re: Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
#42Joshua Slocum (February 20, 1844[1] – on or shortly after November 14, 1909) was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian-born ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Slocum
And Sir Robin Knox-Johnston[1] was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world _non-stop_.
Re: Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
And how fast is this drone ship? I bet slower than the helicopter. And how do you get people onboard? A drone with a robotic arm? Will it be like the claw game, but with wounded people being clawed up?
Even the longest ranged helicopters are WELL short of "middle of the ocean" range. The longest top out around 600 miles, and that's straight line, not out and back, and certainly not with any loiter time in the middle.
The Navy has helicopters that can do in-flight refueling. If an aircraft carrier is close enough it might be called upon (1).
But if not, this is what they do:
> the plane’s crew dropping a bundle of medical gear into the water near the ship, and then four pararescuemen from the 131st Rescue Squadron jumping out themselves. Once in the water, they swam to the Franz, boarding it and treating the fisherman.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-national-guard-parachute...
(1) https://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=88E4...
Re: Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And how do you get people onboard? A drone with a robotic arm? Nets. Nets are how you get people on board in basically all emergency scenarios. Not that drone rescue ships seem like a particularly good idea, mind you.
No, they use harnesses or baskets. And there’s a rescue swimmer to make it less likely that you die. https://youtu.be/1B1dnSf6rPk is one example but there are plenty videos of these guys (heroes).
For rescuing small numbers of people from a helicopter, yes. If you have a large number of people in the water, and you are rescuing from a surface vessel, you would likely deploy netting (at the very least as backup)
Re: Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
#45Joshua Slocum (February 20, 1844[1] – on or shortly after November 14, 1909) was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian-born ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Slocum
The book is worth a read - lots of misadventures and musings.
Re: Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
#46Reminds me of Tom Neale's "An Island to Oneself" - https://harpercollins.com.au/products/9781775492979
An amazing book - well worth a read - I found a first edition years ago, and hadn't expected it to become quite so valuable.
Luckily you can read the entire book on his daughters site, or at least you could in the past.
Unrelated but similarly enjoyable is: Shrimpy: A Record Round-the-World Voyage - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Acton
Re: Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
#47A few years ago I was part of a national-level rescue chain, the chain that starts with a phonecall and snakes it way up through different first responders. The group I worked with were at pretty much the far end of the chain. I am all for people doing great things, but for every great-thing-doing long distance sailor there are a hundred rich idiots. 50ish, got rich, bought a boat and is out on the open ocean ... and…
> He knew to crash on a golf course so the doctors didn't need to walk very far. (Not a joke. That happened.) The link only mentions that he crashed on the golf course, not why he chose it. (Well, other than "can't make it to the airport, golf course is best alternative"). Personally, I suspect "it's got open stretches of flat land with no trees or buildings" was more of a consideration than "doctors are often found…
I lived a block away from where he crashed. It’s immediately next to the Santa Monica airport. I saw his mangled plane after the crash. Yes, I suspect he picked the Penmar golf course because it was a safe option, but it’s also under the flight path of the airport.
Re: Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
#48In my spare time I message people of means to fund a 100ft carbon maxi sailing campaign to break ocean records at the major offshore events around the globe.(www.msailing.org) I call it my moonshot, something I spend a few hours on a month, and you'd be amazed how many people actually politely decline. I wish more people knew the joy and the rawness of the ocean.
Is the intention to use/charter "Skorpios" which you use on the site or are you proposing a full new program from the ground up?
Re: Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
#49A different but equally interesting book about extreme sailing (solo race around the world in the 1960's):
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6055.A_Voyage_for_Madmen
Re: Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor
#50I read this many years ago, it is fantastic. The tale is very matter-of-fact, but interspersed with hard-hitting extremely personal bits. It's a great read.
The boat itself is an odd duck, a Pacific Seacraft double-ender, which was only built for a few years. Somewhat similar to the very popular Westsail 32. Many cruising sailors recommend the smallest boat that will do for you. A larger boat is more comfortable, sure, but expenses do not scale up geometrically in boats. A 60 foot boat is not twice as expensive as a 30 foot, it's more like 4 times more expensive.
Other commenters have noted other similar books (Tania Aebi, Joshua Slocum). The Pardeys, Lin and Larry, have many books on this lifestyle as well. All are very good.