6 ms·

Hi, so I'm good with people "lived for most of history, totally free in the world unconstrained by government limited only by the relationships they choose to m

Hi, so I'm good with people "lived for most of history, totally free in the world unconstrained by government limited only by the relationships they choose to make." However, the Inland Coastal Waterway (where the interview was made) is a very precious resource. Thousands of boaters cruise up and down the waterway from the Chesapeake to Florida. We would all love to live the nomadic lifestyle. Most of us take care of our boats, and try to be a positive reflection to the community. Issue is that when cruisers anchor out along the ICW, in front of someone's property, they look at us and go "Ok, boat in good condition". When they see a boat like Sean, they go "OMG, derelict boat, we need to have a LAW TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM ANCHORING IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE. Because there is a history of boats like that that are not able to propel themselves becoming derelict and then become abandoned. And that creates a problem, because Sean and cruisers don't pay taxes, so the local government listens to the property owner. And pretty soon, nobody, Sean or other cruiser can anchor. And with boats like his, the local marine police are out looking for safety issues. So they stop Sean, and they stop cruisers and want to do safety inspections. All of this is preventable by Sean. I don't want him to be a gleaming mega-yacht. But he can spend an hour and his hull won't be a mess. He can spend another hour picking up wires and cables and stuff and when he gets boarded it won't be a mess. And while I appear to be stepping on his rights, the real statement I'm trying to make is "This is why we can't have nice things." 1000's of boaters go up and down the ICW, and this guy, gets news attention, make's hacker news and he becomes the face and boat of cruisers. Closing anchorages where Sean and cruisers hang out are endangered because of this.

perfmode 7y ago
you’re only further making the OPs point. NIMBY is at odds with freedom.
- AstroJetson 7y ago
  I'll bite since my fireworks got rained out. "NIMBY is at odds with freedom." What does that mean? The issue I was presenting has people that own the back yards that we used to be able to hang out in feel threatened by the owners of the boats. They want us to play nice in their "yards". They want to wake up, get their eggs Benedict and their Mimosa and sit on their McMansion deck and look across the pristine waters. Ok look there is a pretty sailboat, what a great day. Oh look there is what appears to be a derelict sailboat that hasn't been maintained and will sink in hours. CALL MY LAWYER! They are doing this now across the ICW. Am I supposed to go, "He's cool, he's writing FOSS software, it's for the good of all?" I run OpenCPN and I love it. But to be honest, if I pick between Sean doing FOSS Marine Software) and closing the ICW to me to anchor, I'll be at Garmin's (front door with a credit card). Being part of FOSS doesn't give you a free "do what you want" pass with the rest of what you do with your life. Mom says "Nice that you are important, it's more important that you are nice". Playing nice is a 2nd grade skill. People with the really nice back yards have money. And unless you place nice, they use that money against you. Help me in the balance with NIMBY in this case? Thanks!
  - Bakary 7y ago
    Your commentary on the man's life encapsulates many of the reasons that could make a person want to just ditch civilization and live on a boat. - Constant worry about looking proper - Constant worry about your reputation (when people are probably busy thinking about their own reputation instead of yours) - A large amount of legal restrictions around anything at all - Telling people what to do so that they conform to your expectations - Wealthy people determining the legal and regulatory landscape according to their needs - Less wealthy people losing sleep over whether they are pleasing those wealthy people - Less wealthy people badgering even less wealthy people so that they do what the wealthy people want I don't necessarily think that his lifestyle is the best idea or that he is an enlightened sage, but the contrast between the two world views is captivating. > Mom says "Nice that you are important, it's more important that you are nice". Playing nice is a 2nd grade skill. If you define "nice" as just doing what wealthier people want because of incentives to do so. In a more Nietzschean sense, being nice is what you have to be when you are powerless. If you turn the calculus the other way, it's worth asking what incentives the lad has to listen to demands. Can he be arrested or have his boat taken away? I don't have the answers to these questions, but I do wonder what the power balance is in this case.
    - AstroJetson 7y ago
      Here is the deal. People own the land on both sides of the ICW. While the "riparian" rights are being fought in court, it's coming down to "do I own the water line". If I do then I can control the water line to the center of the channel. Before the nonsense of a Sean boat, they owned to the high tide line. But now they can point to a boat with issues (Sean's boat) they can make a claim out to mid channel. Blocking him from anchoring. You ask "Can he / we be arrested and the answer is yes. Yes in Florida and a growing segment in Georgia and the Carolina's. There is no power balance at the Sean level. There is at the boater association level. But Sean isn't helping us going "We are responsible boaters with motive power and boats that look like they will last the next 36 hours. Nietzschean sense has SFA to do with the GA legislature. You are throwing a theoretical against a "This Shit is Happening Now" The GA legislature is listening to tax payers not Nietzschean sense. This is a real thing, not some textbook quiz.
- HeadsUpHigh 7y ago
  This is completely wrong. The waters boats sail on are not law-free and you don't have the right to do whatever you want in them. There's a society of boaters using them and as such everyone has to abide to social contracts in the form of rules for the benefit of everyone. Sean has the "right" ( ethically) to do whatever he wants, everyone else has the "right"( again, ethically) to take his boat and chop it up to pieces. But instead of that we have specific rules to dictate that.
ktaylor 7y ago
This is very true. I've traveled the ICW from Moorehead City, NC to Dinner Key, Miami. Derelict boats bring a very bad reputation to the cruising community and have real repercussions. Also, this boat is very unlikely to pass a coast guard inspection, making it an illegal vessel, putting other boaters and rescuers at risk, as they are legally obligated to render aid if he needs it. This is why I am concerned for his mental health. Nothing wrong with living in a boat, as I've done with children. But one must be responsible and respect the danger of the water.

perfmode 7y ago

you’re only further making the OPs point. NIMBY is at odds with freedom.

AstroJetson 7y ago
I'll bite since my fireworks got rained out. "NIMBY is at odds with freedom." What does that mean? The issue I was presenting has people that own the back yards that we used to be able to hang out in feel threatened by the owners of the boats. They want us to play nice in their "yards". They want to wake up, get their eggs Benedict and their Mimosa and sit on their McMansion deck and look across the pristine waters. Ok look there is a pretty sailboat, what a great day. Oh look there is what appears to be a derelict sailboat that hasn't been maintained and will sink in hours. CALL MY LAWYER! They are doing this now across the ICW. Am I supposed to go, "He's cool, he's writing FOSS software, it's for the good of all?" I run OpenCPN and I love it. But to be honest, if I pick between Sean doing FOSS Marine Software) and closing the ICW to me to anchor, I'll be at Garmin's (front door with a credit card). Being part of FOSS doesn't give you a free "do what you want" pass with the rest of what you do with your life. Mom says "Nice that you are important, it's more important that you are nice". Playing nice is a 2nd grade skill. People with the really nice back yards have money. And unless you place nice, they use that money against you. Help me in the balance with NIMBY in this case? Thanks!
- Bakary 7y ago
  Your commentary on the man's life encapsulates many of the reasons that could make a person want to just ditch civilization and live on a boat. - Constant worry about looking proper - Constant worry about your reputation (when people are probably busy thinking about their own reputation instead of yours) - A large amount of legal restrictions around anything at all - Telling people what to do so that they conform to your expectations - Wealthy people determining the legal and regulatory landscape according to their needs - Less wealthy people losing sleep over whether they are pleasing those wealthy people - Less wealthy people badgering even less wealthy people so that they do what the wealthy people want I don't necessarily think that his lifestyle is the best idea or that he is an enlightened sage, but the contrast between the two world views is captivating. > Mom says "Nice that you are important, it's more important that you are nice". Playing nice is a 2nd grade skill. If you define "nice" as just doing what wealthier people want because of incentives to do so. In a more Nietzschean sense, being nice is what you have to be when you are powerless. If you turn the calculus the other way, it's worth asking what incentives the lad has to listen to demands. Can he be arrested or have his boat taken away? I don't have the answers to these questions, but I do wonder what the power balance is in this case.
  - AstroJetson 7y ago
    Here is the deal. People own the land on both sides of the ICW. While the "riparian" rights are being fought in court, it's coming down to "do I own the water line". If I do then I can control the water line to the center of the channel. Before the nonsense of a Sean boat, they owned to the high tide line. But now they can point to a boat with issues (Sean's boat) they can make a claim out to mid channel. Blocking him from anchoring. You ask "Can he / we be arrested and the answer is yes. Yes in Florida and a growing segment in Georgia and the Carolina's. There is no power balance at the Sean level. There is at the boater association level. But Sean isn't helping us going "We are responsible boaters with motive power and boats that look like they will last the next 36 hours. Nietzschean sense has SFA to do with the GA legislature. You are throwing a theoretical against a "This Shit is Happening Now" The GA legislature is listening to tax payers not Nietzschean sense. This is a real thing, not some textbook quiz.
HeadsUpHigh 7y ago
This is completely wrong. The waters boats sail on are not law-free and you don't have the right to do whatever you want in them. There's a society of boaters using them and as such everyone has to abide to social contracts in the form of rules for the benefit of everyone. Sean has the "right" ( ethically) to do whatever he wants, everyone else has the "right"( again, ethically) to take his boat and chop it up to pieces. But instead of that we have specific rules to dictate that.

ktaylor 7y ago

This is very true. I've traveled the ICW from Moorehead City, NC to Dinner Key, Miami. Derelict boats bring a very bad reputation to the cruising community and have real repercussions. Also, this boat is very unlikely to pass a coast guard inspection, making it an illegal vessel, putting other boaters and rescuers at risk, as they are legally obligated to render aid if he needs it. This is why I am concerned for his mental health. Nothing wrong with living in a boat, as I've done with children. But one must be responsible and respect the danger of the water.