Senior Contributing Editors:
Jesus Diaz
| AIM | Twitter
Mark Wilson, Reviews
| AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editors:
Matt Buchanan | AIM | Twitter
Adam Frucci | Twitter
Sean Fallon | Twitter
Jack Loftus | Twitter
John Herrman | Twitter
Dan Nosowitz
Chris Mascari
Kat Hannaford | Twitter
Rosa Golijan | Twitter
Chris Jacob
Serious question here... What can they actually do besides pull up to the whalers and politely ask them to stop? I think it's a great concept, but I don't know what this accomplishes. #boats
---------------For my gal------------------
Oh my God Becky, Look at her butt, it is SO Big. She looks likes one of those rap guys girlfriends. Who understands those RAP guys?
My Anaconda DON'T WANT NONE UNLESS YOU GOTBUNS HUN!
Ok back to the article:
As far as the ship, that looks pretty awesome. I wish I had me one of those! Besides, I only get sea-sick above the water, not below. And I like the underwater view better as well!
@Thangka: Who do you think got paid the $10 million it took to make that mast, or the whole yacht? That money pays a lot of wages down the line.
It's kind of like the current rant against private jet ownership. That kind of money is made to be spent, and it goes back into the pockets of a lot of people working for a living in the form of salary. #larryellison
@pdok: The egregious disparity of wealth is what raises my "socialist hackles." Of course there's a trail of money left in his wake (hah, pun fun). #larryellison
@pdok: No, the problem with private jet ownership is that it is essentially subsidized by regular fliers, commercial airlines, tax allowances, and dodgy accounting, etc. such that private jet fliers do not bear the true costs of their usage. That, and trickle down economic theories simply do not work.
But, I don't begrudge Ellison his $10M yacht masts. Hell, he's one of the fun billionaires, and I'd keep him around just for the lulz. It's those *boring* billionaires, the ones who are snorting gold dust and crack cocaine off of an 18-year old's ass, then wiping their nose off on another 18-year old's ass, and not telling me about it. They fail to amuse me one bit. Who needs 'em? #larryellison
@ludwigk: My comment wasn't about the economics of jet ownership, but about the "rant" against it. There are many hands in the till, obviously, which is true of sports teams, brothels, or your choice of money-making ventures.
My perception is that people react to the indulgence of the rich with a mixture of disgust and envy, preventing an objective look at what their money does in the economy.
I'm not going to debate economics (I'd lose), however it's fair to say that with the government's perpetual orgy of spending, any trickling down is probably coming from an orifice best unnamed. #larryellison
@fastm3driver: Super high performan.ce stuff breaks all the time. Stuff like that is not usually built for durability, but pure performance.
We're not talking about your run of the mill bamboo or wood mast lovingly goldplated by virgins. Rather, it's going to be a hand built composite mast where every single inch of it is designed for optimal performance.
A formula 1 car can cost a good 15 million. The handbuilt engine, about $8mill worth, is good for maximum two races and then needs to be scrapped. Ferrari could build it to last 15 races, but then it wouldn't get the revs and power that they need to win a race.
Often performance and durability are on opposite ends of a design scale. For a racing team on the ground or in the water, it's an art to figure out where the balance between the two is for any given application. #larryellison
@bobofish: If a part breaks in F1 they improve on it before making another one. Do you think they designed the mast to last one run?
I get your point though. I'm a M.E., a F1 fan and I grew up in Newport RI. :) #larryellison
@bobofish: I can squint really hard and accept your argument with regard to F1 cars, where performance = speed and power, but how is this germane to the America's Cup? What sort of race is this? #larryellison
@ludwigk: If I squint really hard, I can see Wikipedia from my house.
There you will find exactly what kind of a race it is.
Just because a race is one on one does not mean it's any less of a race.
Going back to the F1 analogy, a lot of people would gladly eat their livers to have seen Ayrton Senna vs. Schumacher head to head, or even more recently Alonso and Schumacher one on one with nobody else on the track.
Come to think of it, the F1 analogy to America's Cup isn't bad. Both are as much fundraising and organisational efforts as they are actual racing. Maybe that's fair or maybe not, but it is what it is and people are obsessed about both sports. #larryellison
@bobofish: Nope. Wikipedia did NOT contain the substantive information about the race sufficient to establish that performance would be a much higher priority than durability. #larryellison
Yeah, that's real fine expensive gear you brought out here, Mr. Ellison. 'Course I don't know what that bastard shark's gonna do with it, might eat it I suppose. Seen one eat a rockin' chair one time. #larryellison
Yeah, Ellison's spot-on when he said that it was a "minor setback." Those professional racers have pit crews loaded with replacement parts at every single port of call they make, every leg of every race. A broken mast will kill their chances of winning a leg, but those two reserves are waiting quietly for the Oracle boat to pull into harbor.
You want to see some catastrophic yacht racing damage? Check out some of the footage of this year's Volvo Ocean Race. Nothin' like replacing an exploded rudder, in the middle of a freezing ocean, getting dunked in the drink!
For a lot less than $10 million I would build a boat made out of strippers and cocaine, powered by the Pope's piss and shaped like nunchucks. #larryellison
@Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected: I bought some $10 mast the other day. The guy had some in the back of a white van and was telling me it was a killer deal. I now have five and no idea what to do with them. I guess if the going rate on them is $10 million, I could sell a few of them. #larryellison
I would imagine the Earthrace is going to be deployed as a tracking vessel. In past seasons, keeping up with the whaling vessels has always been a problem for the Steve Irwin. As has staying at sea for as long as they'd like: They have to leave the processing vessel if they are low on fuel and supplies. So Earthrace could be very useful to the Sea Shepherds simply by keeping tabs on the locations of the whaling vessels when the Steve Irwin can't keep up or isn't able to be there.
But then there is the fact that Earthrace is a composite hull. The minute ice enters the equation, Earthrace is out of the equation.
It looks cool though. Maybe it will scare the Japanese away. It reallly lookalike a Batboat with the new paint. #boats
@spider2544: I read an interview with Paul Watson somewheres, and he said something to the effect of not wanting professional mariners because they wouldn't do what he wanted. And as a former maritime academy cadet, it irked the everloving shit out of me.
What he is basically saying is that he wants people ignorant to the dangers they are facing. The first line of a survival at sea book that most maritime cadets are assigned reads "Only fools do not fear the sea." From what I sea, looks like they got a ship full o, and probably a long backlist waiting to get on board.
But I think Earthrace is probably going to be skippered by a much more cautious individual. At least I hope so. #boats
@Thangka: you know, I always wondered why they didn't find people with more experience to crew the ships. that makes sense now.
from watching the show the people out there have no real fear for the situation they are in, and just how dangerous open sea is... much less open arctic seas moving dangerously close to whaling vessels. #boats
The problem here is that there really isn't such a thing as purely 'international waters' anymore. I mean, whose responsibility is it to do something about the great plastic garbage dumps out in the ocean? Properly managing fish stocks of all kinds is a truly planetary concern, as well as the proper management of individual fisheries and their families. And that being said, let's be clear about one thing: in both farming and fishing, there are these myths about the 'little guy'. The vast majority of both are done by humongous multi-nationals that care nothing about anything but profits. I doubt there are very many little fishing outfits running these massive trawlers that go deep into the ocean. I'm a capitalist at heart, I own my own business (12 people) and I am all for the free market, but the excesses always need to be regulated and properly managed. If any organism is allowed unfettered growth it will consume and grow until all resources are depleted, killing itself along with all others. #boats
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
You have your star! All is RIGHT in the world!
---------------For my gal------------------
Oh my God Becky, Look at her butt, it is SO Big. She looks likes one of those rap guys girlfriends. Who understands those RAP guys?
My Anaconda DON'T WANT NONE UNLESS YOU GOT BUNS HUN!
Ok back to the article:
As far as the ship, that looks pretty awesome. I wish I had me one of those! Besides, I only get sea-sick above the water, not below. And I like the underwater view better as well!
11/08/09
Shit like this raises Socialist hackles on my back. #larryellison
11/08/09
It's kind of like the current rant against private jet ownership. That kind of money is made to be spent, and it goes back into the pockets of a lot of people working for a living in the form of salary. #larryellison
11/08/09
11/09/09
But, I don't begrudge Ellison his $10M yacht masts. Hell, he's one of the fun billionaires, and I'd keep him around just for the lulz. It's those *boring* billionaires, the ones who are snorting gold dust and crack cocaine off of an 18-year old's ass, then wiping their nose off on another 18-year old's ass, and not telling me about it. They fail to amuse me one bit. Who needs 'em? #larryellison
11/09/09
My perception is that people react to the indulgence of the rich with a mixture of disgust and envy, preventing an objective look at what their money does in the economy.
I'm not going to debate economics (I'd lose), however it's fair to say that with the government's perpetual orgy of spending, any trickling down is probably coming from an orifice best unnamed. #larryellison
11/08/09
11/08/09
We're not talking about your run of the mill bamboo or wood mast lovingly goldplated by virgins. Rather, it's going to be a hand built composite mast where every single inch of it is designed for optimal performance.
A formula 1 car can cost a good 15 million. The handbuilt engine, about $8mill worth, is good for maximum two races and then needs to be scrapped. Ferrari could build it to last 15 races, but then it wouldn't get the revs and power that they need to win a race.
Often performance and durability are on opposite ends of a design scale. For a racing team on the ground or in the water, it's an art to figure out where the balance between the two is for any given application. #larryellison
11/08/09
I get your point though. I'm a M.E., a F1 fan and I grew up in Newport RI. :) #larryellison
11/09/09
11/09/09
There you will find exactly what kind of a race it is.
Just because a race is one on one does not mean it's any less of a race.
Going back to the F1 analogy, a lot of people would gladly eat their livers to have seen Ayrton Senna vs. Schumacher head to head, or even more recently Alonso and Schumacher one on one with nobody else on the track.
Come to think of it, the F1 analogy to America's Cup isn't bad. Both are as much fundraising and organisational efforts as they are actual racing. Maybe that's fair or maybe not, but it is what it is and people are obsessed about both sports. #larryellison
11/09/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
You want to see some catastrophic yacht racing damage? Check out some of the footage of this year's Volvo Ocean Race. Nothin' like replacing an exploded rudder, in the middle of a freezing ocean, getting dunked in the drink!
[www.volvooceanrace.org] #larryellison
11/08/09
11/08/09
I think these guys are getting ripped-offs... #larryellison
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/09/09
So they'll be totally invisible! Until they get harpooned.
Kinda like your little cousin who thinks wearing camouflage means no one can see him. #boats
11/08/09
But then there is the fact that Earthrace is a composite hull. The minute ice enters the equation, Earthrace is out of the equation.
It looks cool though. Maybe it will scare the Japanese away. It reallly lookalike a Batboat with the new paint. #boats
11/08/09
I gotta feeling the people who man this boat in those cold waters will be taking a brisk dip in no time flat. #boats
11/08/09
What he is basically saying is that he wants people ignorant to the dangers they are facing. The first line of a survival at sea book that most maritime cadets are assigned reads "Only fools do not fear the sea." From what I sea, looks like they got a ship full o, and probably a long backlist waiting to get on board.
But I think Earthrace is probably going to be skippered by a much more cautious individual. At least I hope so. #boats
11/08/09
from watching the show the people out there have no real fear for the situation they are in, and just how dangerous open sea is... much less open arctic seas moving dangerously close to whaling vessels. #boats
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
11/08/09