No joke - man preparing to sail across the Atlantic on a 42 inch yacht

[zedpassway]

Time for another Darwin Award.

[mako]

Q: Why did the idiot cross the Atlantic?

A: To waste tax payers' money on a fruitless search and rescue operation.

[TrentePieds]

Come on, Guys - that boat is plenty big enuff. the man is only 6 inches tall :-)

TP

[michaelratinter]

He has the spirit of adventure and enough sense to abort when things go wrong. Good for him!

[deblen]

Surely that is a metric 42".

I don't see a problem

[Dave22q]

He is free to conduct his adventure but I would hope that, if rescue expenses are incurred, the authorities will sue to recover their costs. At worst they can obtain a judgement that will let them go after anybody wanting to sponsor a repeat try. This stunt has no justification for burning taxpayer money.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

He is free to conduct his adventure but I would hope that, if rescue expenses are incurred, the authorities will sue to recover their costs. At worst they can obtain a judgement that will let them go after anybody wanting to sponsor a repeat try. This stunt has no justification for burning taxpayer money.

I understand your point, however I will point out that to the general taxpaying public there just isn't any difference between his boat and mine

I see this with the FAA, there is a growing consensus that the FAA should only spend tax money on the greater public good, that is airliners, the little airplanes, the rich men's toys, maybe public money shouldn't be spent there?

[CharlzO]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I think his statement "It was the worst, most unpredictable and erratic conditions I have ever sailed in with that boat." makes it pretty clear that he doesn't have a lot of offshore experience.

Actually, I think he was only referring to the offshore in THAT boat. The article mentions he worked tall ships previously, so I imagine he's seen some of it. But I imagine he didn't have a lot of opportunity to take his 42" out into gale winds on the open seas for trials.

[mako]

I'm designing a 41 inch "yacht" with jacuzzi, marble bath and pretty girls in bikinis.... or is it a 41 inch jacuzzi with pretty girls and a toy yacht??? Can't remember which one it was.

[JonCharles66]

His "pod" is 42" long x 7 ft tall with 300 lbs of gear/food/water inside. How on earth this pod moves any faster than the ocean current drift is a mystery, let alone with any sense of directional control. I agree with others, this has to be a farce. Hopefully, he does not get dysentery or sea sickness, that will be one messy pod.

[taxwizz]

I wish him the very best of luck.
And look forward to the National Geographic feature.

[fatherchronica]

I have read many books about ocean crossings in small boats, and I am not saying some haven't been rescued from them, but I have never read about them. I think he is as safe in the ocean as a multihulls crew is. In the 60's and 70's multihulls were turning over at alarming rates, less so now, but still more stable upside down. I suspect more of our money per capita is spent on lazy tv watching armchair quarterbacks with diabetes and clogged arteries than on folks trying to find their own adventure.

[hobopacket]

Pretty well thought out boat. Can completely seal up and has a snorkel to breathe. Really probably a much safer boat than a lot of folks cross in.

[DocRox]

This could make him famous or infamous... I fail to remember who crossed in a 43 incher though.

[DDabs]

call it what you will, but not a yacht.