5 ms·
A 72-year-old French man has crossed the Atlantic in a giant orange barrel
- p1necone 7y ago"giant barrel" is clickbait. It's a (unpowered) boat that externally looks a bit like a barrel. "measures about 10 feet long and seven feet wide and includes a small kitchen and bed, and space for storage."
- hnhg 7y agoI wish there were more details, like how he lived, his water supply, toilet arrangements, etc.
- p1necone 7y agoExisting only on caught fish sounds like a recipe for scurvy too. I wonder if he had anything else?
- xfitm3 7y agoSearch for his name - other outlets have more details.
- flopp 7y agoThe project's website has some details: http://www.atlantique-tonneau.com http://www.atlantique-tonneau.com
- jpatokal 7y agoLook at the photo, it's hard to describe that as anything but a barrel: https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/q_auto,w_634,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets%2F190507142123-barrel-atlantic-crossing-sint-eustatius.jpg https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/q_auto,w_634,c_fill,g_auto... In particular, it lacks any conventional boat elements like a method of propulsion or steering. He is clearly milking the label for all it's worth though, the GPS tracker ID was "diogene" (French for Diogenes of Greek philosopher living in a barrel fame) and his sponsors included several manufacturers of wine barrels (https://www.boutes.com/ https://www.boutes.com/), who apparently also helped build the thing.
- d--b 7y agoThe plan shows this had a keel though.
- ddingus 7y agoWhat does that do? Maybe allow choice of current, like where it forks?
- jussij 7y agoI suspect the keel attempts to stops the barrel from rolling on it's axis. If it had a tendency to easily roll it would be like trying to live in a giant tumble dryer.
- 11235813213455 7y agostabilization, to avoid getting upside down all the time, he could have used ballasts as well
- inflatableDodo 7y ago>the GPS tracker ID was "diogene" (French for Diogenes of Greek philosopher living in a barrel fame) In that case I am slightly disappointed that the voyage was undertaken without the barrel also containing a pack of feral dogs. The resulting footage would be worth it if nothing else.
- eps 7y agoIt also has a keel with the ballast. http://www.atlantique-tonneau.com/pdf/plan.pdf http://www.atlantique-tonneau.com/pdf/plan.pdf
- keyle 7y agoSure but the French translation and the naming of the ship itself translates to barrel.
- gka 7y agobut it is a wooden barrel, just painted/coated on the outside. you can see it from the inside in this video https://youtu.be/TiohMRMdknU?t=45 https://youtu.be/TiohMRMdknU?t=45
- 2xlbuds 7y agoReminds me of "Father's Day" https://medium.com/@info_44554/5ft-4-inch-fathers-day-is-the-smallest-boat-to-ever-cross-the-atlantic-ocean-fa6077c3ca8e https://medium.com/@info_44554/5ft-4-inch-fathers-day-is-the...
- xfitm3 7y agoAs almost always is the case the CNN article is light on details. Popular mechanics is slightly better - with some eye candy. I have to say a 72 year old man crossing the atlantic in a unpowered vessel is amazing. Good for him. https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a27396168/frenchman-crosses-atlantic-ocean-in-barrel/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a2739616...
- checker659 7y ago> As almost always is the case the CNN article Maybe CNN knows that its audience don't want technical details??
- ddingus 7y agoMore like conditioned to avoid technical details. (Not happy with CNN these days)
- nerdwaller 7y agoIronically at the bottom of the Popular Mechanics article is “Source: CNN”
- rockinghigh 7y agoHis web site has more pictures: http://www.atlantique-tonneau.com http://www.atlantique-tonneau.com
- coleifer 7y agoShoot that's nothing, I flew across the Atlantic in a giant barrel with wings plenty of times.
- leshokunin 7y agoWhat does this mean for the future of barrel-powered travel?
- mintplant 7y agohttps://xkcd.com/1 https://xkcd.com/1
- joshfraser 7y agohttps://xkcd.com/11/ https://xkcd.com/11/
- lugg 7y agoI wonder if this answers any questions about how early man managed to populate the Americas / Pacific.
- 11235813213455 7y ago> including a rough sea that forced him to leave the barrel and navigate difficult waters from outside his cozy confines Where was he? sitting at the top of the barrel? or on another accompanying boat?
- Gys 7y ago'navigate' ? How ?
- 11235813213455 7y agoI'm quoting the article, I also wonder what they mean by that