Dutch backpackers buy boat to escape from Covid-19 in Australia

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by Bill O

So you leave 2 hanging questions and don't expect/want a response?

Off topic - besides, my statement was a quote from folks a lot more informed than me, I don’t feel a further need to justify its accuracy or lack thereof.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

Huh?
... Think about human advancement just in the last century ...

Which was nothing like the centuries that preceded it.

The Law of Accelerating Change:
An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense “intuitive linear” view. So we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century — it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate).
Indeed, we find not just simple exponential growth, but “double” exponential growth, meaning that the rate of exponential growth is itself growing exponentially.
The evolution of life forms, required billions of years for the first steps (e.g., primitive cells); later on progress accelerated. During the Cambrian explosion, major paradigm shifts took only tens of millions of years. Later on, Humanoids developed over a period of millions of years, and Homo sapiens over a period of only hundreds of thousands of years.
The first technological steps (sharp edges, fire, the wheel) took tens of thousands of years.
For people living in this era, there was little noticeable technological change in even a thousand years.
By 1000 A.D., progress was much faster, and a paradigm shift required only a century or two.
In the nineteenth century, we saw more technological change than in the nine centuries preceding it.
Then in the first twenty years of the twentieth century, we saw more advancement than in all of the nineteenth century.
Now, paradigm shifts occur in only a few years time. The World Wide Web did not exist, in anything like its present form, just a decade ago; it didn’t exist, at all, three decade ago.
The first popular description of this phenomenon (that I recall) was Alvin Toffler’s “Future Shock” (1970). In it, he envisioned a world in which rapid change made people go insane. But the theme that caught my attention, was the notion that the character of change, had, itself, changed. What’s now called the Law of Accelerating Return (the acceleration of change).

[pt49]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Which was nothing like the centuries that preceded it.

The Law of Accelerating Change:
An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense “intuitive linear” view. So we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century — it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate).
Indeed, we find not just simple exponential growth, but “double” exponential growth, meaning that the rate of exponential growth is itself growing exponentially.
The evolution of life forms, required billions of years for the first steps (e.g., primitive cells); later on progress accelerated. During the Cambrian explosion, major paradigm shifts took only tens of millions of years. Later on, Humanoids developed over a period of millions of years, and Homo sapiens over a period of only hundreds of thousands of years.
The first technological steps (sharp edges, fire, the wheel) took tens of thousands of years.
For people living in this era, there was little noticeable technological change in even a thousand years.
By 1000 A.D., progress was much faster, and a paradigm shift required only a century or two.
In the nineteenth century, we saw more technological change than in the nine centuries preceding it.
Then in the first twenty years of the twentieth century, we saw more advancement than in all of the nineteenth century.
Now, paradigm shifts occur in only a few years time. The World Wide Web did not exist, in anything like its present form, just a decade ago; it didn’t exist, at all, three decade ago.
The first popular description of this phenomenon (that I recall) was Alvin Toffler’s “Future Shock” (1970). In it, he envisioned a world in which rapid change made people go insane. But the theme that caught my attention, was the notion that the character of change, had, itself, changed. What’s now called the Law of Accelerating Return (the acceleration of change).

Which explains why conventional financial "experts" cannot accept a new concept like Bitcoin.
It has gone from being worthless to a few cents, to a few dollars to tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars in only 11 years...
Millions of % growth in 11 years.

Now about these Dutch boys... I ENVY THEM.

[pt49]

Truths known, these Dutch boys are the envy of 95% of the members of this forum...

My best guess is that very few members here have ever crossed even one of the major oceans of our world, especially those owning $500,000+ boats/yachts.

These young men have a dream, they have a yacht... they will very likely achieve their dream.

It's OK to own a $500,000 plastic fantastic, but it's way more FANTASTIC to actually sail over open oceans, even if it is in a boat made of concrete.

[CatNewBee]

It's survival of the fittests, not survival of the most scared.

[Mr B]

I wish them the best of luck,
They have a sound boat going from the auction post report,
They are willing to learn, They have youth on their side,
Back packers are usually very resourcefull,
It doesnt take long to learn to sail and get some where you want to go,
They will be cruising, Not racing,
They dont have to be fancy about it,
They dont even have to know what all the ropes are called,

Pull the rag up the post with a following wind and your sailing, Simple,
GPS tells them whats under the water, So they can avoid reefs and rocks,

There is nothing hard about sailing across an open ocean, Its just common sense,
Autopilot does all the work, They do have one,
They can learn as they go, Its not hard,

I stepped onto my new Catamaran in Fiji, I couldnt sail for ****,
six weeks later, after learning to sail it around Fiji, ,
I single handed it back to Australia,
It was learning experience most of the way, But I got it here,
It took a week longer than experienced sailors do it, But who cares, I didnt,

[John_char]

I’m looking forward to the voyage being substantially recorded on YouTube. An epic story in the making. I doubt will be in English though.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by pt49

I envy these young men.

That boat looks up to the task, as far as I can see they face only 2 dangers... the Great Barrier Reef to the north of Brisbane and Pirates approaching the Suez.

They can miss the Reef by sailing well out to sea before heading north... as for Pirates? Well, I would be heading south west to go round South Africa after leaving Darwin myself.

Having gone up the coast of Oz inside the GBR and around South Africa, a couple of comments. The GBR part should be fine. You do need to be able to read a chart and take your time. The South Africa idea is all wrong. By the time they got there it would be winter and the area is bad enough in the summer. In November we had had an amazing sail across the Indian from Cocos-Keeling to Mauritius but winds were 25 to 35 knots and we knew what we were doing and knew our powerfully-built boat well. The passage from Mauritius to Richards Bay was even windier. You also need to cross the Agulhas Current with the possibility of depressions coming along the coast producing, as the cruising guide said, waves to 20 m. We got across the current and into Richards Bay just before a depression. Six hours later it was blowing 50 knots. The prevailing wisdom for going along the coast of SA is that you wait in one spot until you get a weather window and then go to the next harbour - I seem to remember these were in the 90 nm to 230 nm range. These guys would have to do the whole thing without stopping and take the weather they get - as winter is approaching. The Suez route is much shorter, less windy, and the pirate risk is much diminished these days.

[Valmika]

Originally Posted by John_char

I’m looking forward to the voyage being substantially recorded on YouTube. An epic story in the making. I doubt will be in English though.

If they go on youtube I will be one of the Patreons. I do 3 at a time but as soon as someone starts making over $1000 a video a move on. BTW. Laura Deckers English became very good while she was documenting her voyage.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by pt49

Which explains why conventional financial "experts" cannot accept a new concept like Bitcoin.
It has gone from being worthless to a few cents, to a few dollars to tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars in only 11 years...
Millions of % growth in 11 years.

Now about these Dutch boys... I ENVY THEM.

Bitcoin isn't worth anything, really. It's speculative, but not unique. Criminals like it because it's not traceable, at least not that they know of.

[pt49]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

Bitcoin isn't worth anything, really. It's speculative, but not unique. Criminals like it because it's not traceable, at least not that they know of.

I did try and change the topic back to the Dutch boys, but seeing you insist on spreading false information, I will answer you now.

Bitcoin is worth market price, just as a gallon of water, an ounce of gold, a pound of steak or a second hand yacht is worth market price... in saying that it's worthless, you are advertising your jealousy at missing out at previous low prices, and the fact that your ego won't allow you to now buy in at a fair market price.

Yes it is speculative at least in the short term, just as gold, stocks and shiny new houses are.

Criminals like CASH above all else, which is why you will see the FED and other central banks around the world adopt clones of Bitcoin in the very near future... reason being EVERY transaction can be traced, and if you should dare to sell a boat, car, ounce of gold (currently untracable)... or an ounce of weed, without declaring the true transaction price, you WILL get caught.

That sir, is the beauty of Blockchain technology... and IT IS coming to your country VERY soon... trust me.

NOW back to these two Dutch boys.

[pt49]

Originally Posted by John_char

I’m looking forward to the voyage being substantially recorded on YouTube. An epic story in the making. I doubt will be in English though.

I'm sure it will be in English, if they do Youtube. They have been backpacking around Australia... most likely for the maximum allowed two years, and using their visitors work visa's, no doubt.
Their English will be very good.

[Fbfisher]

Well, they need to attend to the port side bow dock line, it’s appears to be badly chaffed and run incorrectly, putting that stanchion at risk. If that’s just the beginning of their issues, some lessons may be more consequential than others.

[GordMay]

... Bitcoin is worth market price, just as a gallon of water, an ounce of gold, a pound of steak or a second hand yacht is worth market price... in saying that it's worthless, you are advertising your jealousy at missing out at previous low prices, and the fact that your ego won't allow you to now buy in at a fair market price...

Gold has utility value, because it can be turned into jewelry or used in medical devices; a steak can be eaten, your boat can be used as accommodation & transportation, and US dollars are a globally accepted means of payment, and value storage. The fact that these assets have a reliable real-world use case gives them an enhanced function, as a store of value. Asset owners can save, retrieve and exchange them at a later time.
Bitcoin is only becoming a globally accepted means of payment, and value storage, thus it has (somewhat) limited utility value.
I know that my argument is vastly simplistic.

[TravelinLight]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Gold has utility value, because it can be turned into jewelry or used in medical devices; a steak can be eaten, your boat can be used as accommodation & transportation, and US dollars are a globally accepted means of payment, and value storage. The fact that these assets have a reliable real-world use case gives them an enhanced function, as a store of value. Asset owners can save, retrieve and exchange them at a later time.
Bitcoin is only becoming a globally accepted means of payment, and value storage, thus it has (somewhat) limited utility value.
I know that my argument is vastly simplistic.

Gordy, you are spot on here and I will add an additional layer. Bitcoin (And all other digital currency) require not only 2 devices to use, but they must have access to power and the internet to redeem. That is not always available in far reaching locations and everyone knows what salt water does to electronic devices.