Hold Fast: The Tale of SV Pestilence

[VinnyVincent]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

A generation or two ago, it used to be that sailing, & sailing adventures much akin to theirs were common, & or the only way that folks did anything more on the water than daysailing.
I mean how many of the reknowned sailing adventurers of the 50's, 60's, & 70's had any more gear than they did? Or for that matter, the Pardey's sailed with little more, when you get right down to it - as far as equipment, & sophistication goes.

To borrow a phrase & thought... from another famous adventurer from the past...

A QUOTE FROM STERLING HAYDEN’S BOOK, WANDERER

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea… “cruising” it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.

“I’ve always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can’t afford it.” What these men can’t afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of “security.” And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine – and before we know it our lives are gone.

What does a man need – really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in – and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all – in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade.

The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?

Sterling Hayden

That's the kind of stuff i like to read/watch. I might have to buy that book.

[ryon]

Just because we're all old enough to have made our "direct deposits" legally doesn't mean that our poop was any better for the environment. BTW, you might take a look at "Moxie Marlinspike's" Wikipedia page. He's done a lot more good for the internet security community than your average highly-talented young fellow.

[Pegu Club]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

A generation or two ago, it used to be that sailing, & sailing adventures much akin to theirs were common, & or the only way that folks did anything more on the water than daysailing.
I mean how many of the reknowned sailing adventurers of the 50's, 60's, & 70's had any more gear than they did? Or for that matter, the Pardey's sailed with little more, when you get right down to it - as far as equipment, & sophistication goes.

To borrow a phrase & thought... from another famous adventurer from the past...

A QUOTE FROM STERLING HAYDEN’S BOOK, WANDERER

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea… “cruising” it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.

“I’ve always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can’t afford it.” What these men can’t afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of “security.” And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine – and before we know it our lives are gone.

What does a man need – really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in – and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all – in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade.

The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?

Sterling Hayden

This ^^^^^^^^^

[Celestialsailor]

I also enjoyed the video. It really pisses all over the other threads that mock the idea of "just go"("When we shouldn't encourage people to "just go"). They all had balls during that blow.....or just didn't know any better...

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by VinnyVincent

Man I probably watched this about five times. Can't get enough of it.

I think they had more money than he led us to believe though.
How did they do all that work to the boat with zero dollars? They could have borrowed tools, stole lumbar for the bulkheads, ect...but what about things like anchors? He mentions putting up to 4 out at once.
Once scene shows him using a higher end fishing rod/reel.
That engine looks pretty nice. How did they afford it?
I didn't see any sails in the initial pics of their boat.
Surely the boat needed more than just bulkheads and all that little stuff adds up!

Are there any other videos like this that are even close to being as entertaining?
The hollywood sailing movies leave a lot to be desired.

What work? They hardly did anything really compared to how our boats would be fitted.

The 'four' anchors can be seen laying beside the boat at the start so I suspect they came with the boat.

The fishing reel was hardly top end. But regardless, surely having the odd luxary like a video camera is not indicative of being rich.

They clearly did not have much money. The boat was just together and that's all. They even had joined together pieces of rope for an anchor rode.

[Cormorant]

Moxie is a very interesting guy. He has gone on to a high-level career in computer encryption and security. Sold a company to Twitter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxie_Marlinspike

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Cormorant

Moxie is a very interesting guy. He has gone on to a high-level career in computer encryption and security. Sold a company to Twitter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxie_Marlinspike

thanks. Id love to know what the girls did after they dropped him off.

[jreiter190]

I absolutely loved every minute of it. Gives me renewed faith in the youth of today. I would go to sea with any of these resourceful, cheerful folks. I felt no disgust, only joy. We did the same things in the early '70s, only with wooden boats. I found myself wishing I could show them easier ways of doing some of the things such as stepping their mast from another boat, then realized that unlike my time when sailors helped each other, they were practically alone in solving problems. Notice how they were rigged right with vangs, etc. Fantastic people! I guess the broker who posted this was only disgusted by the fact that there was no $$ in it for him.

[VinnyVincent]

Moxie also has a website/blog with some really interesting stories to read.
I especially liked his account of sailing solo to mexico along the California coast.

Moxie Marlinspike >> About

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by VinnyVincent

Moxie also has a website/blog with some really interesting stories to read.
I especially liked his account of sailing solo to mexico along the California coast.

Moxie Marlinspike >> About

Seems the US government don't like him too much

Any idea what happend to the girls after he left the boat? And what happened to the boat?

[Yukon Cornelius]

I didn't want to like this movie. I really hate the whole white-guy-dreadlock-anarchist thing, but they did a lot of things that really impressed me; like practicing dead reckoning and backing it up with a hand held GPS, and reading to each other out of "The Sailor's Weather Guide". I wish my crew would do a little more of that!

I do suspect one (or all) of them had a trust fund or a parent helping out. I see this a lot where I work in academia; privileged kids that adopted an anarchist/ hippy/ alternative lifestyle, perhaps out of guilt or rebellion against the parent from whence their affluence comes. It doesn't mean they still can't be good kids (I think they wildly exaggerated the whole "squatting" thing in the beginning of the movie).


Anyway, I followed the links mentioned above, and found that Moxie is a very thoughtful and talented writer. Here is a quote from his website:

"Sailing is unlike almost any other activity, in that one does not come into sailing with apprehension and slowly graduate to comfort with experience. Just the opposite. Sailors who are really good, know everything about boats, and have thousands of hours at sea are continually and unshakably terrified while on the ocean. Not because they don't know what they're doing, but because they know the ocean so well as to fear it deeply, regardless of how conditions may initially appear. Novices, on the other hand, usually proceed with an affect which is considerably more blithe. As Brian Toss once said, there are only three types of sea-faring sailors — dead, novices, and pessimists. I knew this, but not well enough."

[DRussell]

By the wiki profile for the dreadlock "boy" it seems he was wrapped up in the dot-com tech bubble from that era. The video produced around 2000. It goes on to list his contributions to tech security and one of his startups eventually bought out by Twitter. Not a trustafarian but perhaps self made in an unconventional way. I also have a love hate relationship with the video.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Moonos]

Awesome video.

He talks about rowing out the anchor and everyone looks at him weird. One time he can't be bothered to inflate the dingy so he swims out the anchor.

[captain58sailin]

They were out there doing what they dreamed, which is more than some here have accomplished.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

They were out there doing what they dreamed, which is more than some here have accomplished.

Ya...but haven't you heard?...they're "looking for their next boat" or "I'm on the 5 year plan".
I think it was John Lennon who said..."Life is whats happening while you're busy making plans".