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While I don't much care about the yachts and find the fact that the behaviour is spreading fascinating, my fear out of all this is people will start hurting the

While I don't much care about the yachts and find the fact that the behaviour is spreading fascinating, my fear out of all this is people will start hurting the whales to try to get them to stop.

serf 3y ago
there is bound to be some kind of response if this remains a trend; and given that some of these boats are having their fin/bulb keels seemingly targeted by these animals means that the crews of the boats are in some greater level of mortal peril than is already provided by the hobby.. I feel bad for the animals, but sailing doesn't seem to be going anywhere as a global interest and boats produced are getting to be more and more fragile in the search for performance. I imagine that it's only a matter of time until there will be a violent reaction when a crew feels that they're in mortal danger -- all I can hope for is that it produces a recognition of danger that also sweeps through the Orca community as a trend and they start to avoid yachts for the sake of both parties. When I watch the videos I just kind of think it's like watching a cat scratching themselves and rubbing up against anything with an edge on my desk. Wholly benign behavior that is a detriment simply due to their scale compared to us.
- shreyshnaccount 3y ago
  I totally understand where you are coming from but the palatable entitlement of our species is at its peak when we say something like this
  - mjh2539 3y ago
    I don't think I'd call it entitled; perhaps half a million years ago, but today, no.
- lost_tourist 3y ago
  Seems like it would be better to disallow sailing in Portugal than trying to wipe out all the orcas in their waters
mmanfrin 3y ago
I totally agree. There's a part of me going 'hell yeah go orcas', and another part knowing that in a war, humans are gonna win, and I don't like what that means for orcas.
pfdietz 3y ago
Or maybe the orcas will restrict their boat-ramming, people-eating behavior to refugee boats. The powers that be will be happy, just as long as they leave the billion-carrying submarines alone.
- Slava_Propanei 3y ago
  [dead]
jml78 3y ago
Yacht is a loaded term. A 30ft sailboat is a yacht. Given the crazy housing prices, a lot of people are buying sailboats and living in them because it is way cheaper than renting. Yacht does not mean wealthy. I am firmly middle class. My family is planning to move onto a sailboat next year.
- SketchySeaBeast 3y ago
  Between boat upkeep, day to day expenses and mooring fees it's actually cheaper than renting? That's interesting. I would have assumed it would be death by a thousand cuts and not worth the unreliable services and tiny living space.
  - yurishimo 3y ago
    It definitely depends on where you live. If you work in Seattle, you could save a few bucks on rent by living on a boat in Tacoma. I doubt you'd save any money living on a boat in LA or Miami.
  - jml78 3y ago
    You don’t have to live on a mooring ball. The cheapest thing is living on anchor. If you outfit the boat with solar, some lithium, and a water maker, your real expenses are boat maintenance which is cheap when doing it yourself. I know digital nomads who’s total expenses for a year are 30k for a family of four. That includes all boat costs and living expenses.

While I don't much care about the yachts and find the fact that the behaviour is spreading fascinating, my fear out of all this is people will start hurting the whales to try to get them to stop.

serf 3y ago

there is bound to be some kind of response if this remains a trend; and given that some of these boats are having their fin/bulb keels seemingly targeted by these animals means that the crews of the boats are in some greater level of mortal peril than is already provided by the hobby.. I feel bad for the animals, but sailing doesn't seem to be going anywhere as a global interest and boats produced are getting to be more and more fragile in the search for performance. I imagine that it's only a matter of time until there will be a violent reaction when a crew feels that they're in mortal danger -- all I can hope for is that it produces a recognition of danger that also sweeps through the Orca community as a trend and they start to avoid yachts for the sake of both parties. When I watch the videos I just kind of think it's like watching a cat scratching themselves and rubbing up against anything with an edge on my desk. Wholly benign behavior that is a detriment simply due to their scale compared to us.

shreyshnaccount 3y ago
I totally understand where you are coming from but the palatable entitlement of our species is at its peak when we say something like this
- mjh2539 3y ago
  I don't think I'd call it entitled; perhaps half a million years ago, but today, no.
lost_tourist 3y ago
Seems like it would be better to disallow sailing in Portugal than trying to wipe out all the orcas in their waters

mmanfrin 3y ago

I totally agree. There's a part of me going 'hell yeah go orcas', and another part knowing that in a war, humans are gonna win, and I don't like what that means for orcas.

pfdietz 3y ago

Or maybe the orcas will restrict their boat-ramming, people-eating behavior to refugee boats. The powers that be will be happy, just as long as they leave the billion-carrying submarines alone.

Slava_Propanei 3y ago
[dead]

jml78 3y ago

Yacht is a loaded term. A 30ft sailboat is a yacht. Given the crazy housing prices, a lot of people are buying sailboats and living in them because it is way cheaper than renting. Yacht does not mean wealthy. I am firmly middle class. My family is planning to move onto a sailboat next year.

SketchySeaBeast 3y ago
Between boat upkeep, day to day expenses and mooring fees it's actually cheaper than renting? That's interesting. I would have assumed it would be death by a thousand cuts and not worth the unreliable services and tiny living space.
- yurishimo 3y ago
  It definitely depends on where you live. If you work in Seattle, you could save a few bucks on rent by living on a boat in Tacoma. I doubt you'd save any money living on a boat in LA or Miami.
- jml78 3y ago
  You don’t have to live on a mooring ball. The cheapest thing is living on anchor. If you outfit the boat with solar, some lithium, and a water maker, your real expenses are boat maintenance which is cheap when doing it yourself. I know digital nomads who’s total expenses for a year are 30k for a family of four. That includes all boat costs and living expenses.