Mulberry for the third millennium

tcm

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I'm a bit bored with computers being "the future". They're rubbish, really. tap tap tappity tap, where's the fun in that?

My vision for the next century would be to reinvent and rebuild (literally) the uk or part thereof as a large movable floating seagoing country that cruises around the globe to save its energy requirements by following the sun, allows easier trading with various emerging markets, handily avoids areas of conflict, and repositions for a better climate or to take advantage of unclaimed undersea mineral deposits. Computers might help in this regard, but so might some large sails.

We need to dig up the country, starting from the coasts and working inland, inserting a buoyant grid of concrete floating piers perhaps with praps minimum 20 metre draught in most areas and decent keels under the pennines, cumbrian moutains and grampians if they want to come along too, and then replace all the coutryside back where it was. Nobody need know about this until we tiptoe away darn sarth one summer on a maiden voyage. Rocky offshore outcrops like Lundy, the IOM, Holy island and the orkneys will be used as mooring cleats during construction, and for warping out into the westen appraoches on completion without getting jammed between ushant and the fastnet.

This is a far better idea than the channel stupid tunnel, altho of course the experineced peeps who did that would be v handy for this somewhat more challenging project. Which i suppose need not take longer than a couple of generations, tops.

The UK is uniquely placed to do this amongst all G8 nations cos they arent detached like the UK, but hemmed in and thus needing far more work to get out into the open sea and it might not even be possible, especially the european ones. Belgium and holand obviously may have thought about this, and it explains there strange keeness on the EU - no chance of them going blue-water crusing cos thiv got no freeboard.

The project has advantages of low-tech mass employment, and our engineering, mining, marine enginering and navigational skils can combine to achieve something far more worthwhile than going to the dusty boring moon or to Mars in a rocket, and much more fun for everyone instead of just for a few astronauts. We could have a preliminary feasibilty study with Sark, and get going on the main item within 5 years, i think.
 

Ships_Cat

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Better remember to put a plug in the Channel Tunnel before you cast off or else Europe will be flooded.

John

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Magic_Sailor

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Not a new idea!

I remember when I were a lad...reading a science fiction novel called "Cities in Space".

Liverpool was uprooted and shot around the universe (some might say what a good idea).

You've got to think big TC.

Magic

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Dominic

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The extra bits..

I can see a problem. Ulster.

Do we take it along as a dinghy or leave it ?

There are strongly held views on this.

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halcyon

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Had similar idea years ago when we still had Commonwealth, the idea was that you worked 5 months in the UK. Then everyone boarded a boat and sailed south, having ther 4 week holiday/cruise, to southern hemisphere countries and the sun. You then moved into your second home and went back to work, while you are away the repair team moved in and did all the work on the road/motoways, dug up the roads for gas, water, electric, repaired the railway's etc. After 5 months you get back on the boat and cruise back to the UK for summer, and more sailing.
You get 8 weeks cruising, 10 months sailing, no hold up's due to roadworks or track repairs to the railway.
And you could do it to-day.

Brian

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Andrew_Fanner

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H'mm.

Basic shape of the UK does rather suggest Scotland is the "bow", the south coast the "transom" and that Ulster is on a side tow for some reason. This makes the IOW our tender, could be a bit cramped if too many of the crew want a run ashore at The Folly, no, hang about, that's on the tender anyway:)

What's our turning circle? Don't want to run into Iceland, too darn cold...

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Marsupial

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We always reckoned that if you cut the phone lines canvey island would float off into the north sea - now theres a thought - balast the thing with sand (ground up computer chips) and try it!

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Metabarca

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It's going to be a bit of a squeeze getting into the Med, even if you use all of the east coast as fenders and Scotland as an 'ice-breaker'. Perhaps the Bight of Benin might be a better destination. Have to stock up on mos-killer, tho.

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Evadne

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Route planning and the Colregs

It would take about 70 years to do this, by which time the north polar ice cap will have melted. I'd suggest going "over the top" and exiting straight into the Pacific. We might make a bit of a mess of the Aleutians on the way through Bering strait, though, unless they get out of the way.
Which brings us to the next problem, where do we fit into the ColRegs? Normally boats give way to bits of land, so they're no problem but what about other islands and continents? Once they get wind of this, the Icelanders, Falklanders and other cold places are all going to want to get in on the act. It could be chaos!

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zefender

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Yes, but the shape of the 'vessel' is ideal for hooking off bits of land nearby. The East coast would fit neatly in the SE corner of Biscay for example/ Prevailing wind should keep us moored quite nicely. You could just jamb it in the Gib straits and use the rivers and canals as a sort of med version of the panama canal, charging a fortune for boat in and out of the place. Also, if our oil stocks are running out, might be worth floating over some new fields and sucking all the stuff up, for a while.

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robp

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Ok - who's skipper, who's navigating and who's on strategy? Oh sh*t, it's floundered already.

Buy me a Ferrari and I'll take roving fenders..

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jfm

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This is quite clever, legally. It would be a ship and a sovereign state at the same time. So where would it be flagged? The UK of course! The only ship on the planet whose flagging state is itself. Sort of the marine law equivalent of disappearing up your own @rse.

Hence, if there are any "incidents" along the way, we could just pass a law on the hoof to say it's ok.

Getting into the Med should be ok as we own the gatekeeper's hut, Gibraltar, and can relocate it to make room, subject to Spanish planning permission.

Also I wouldn't bring the cornwall peninsula. Too much appendage drag imho. Not to mention mutinous tendencies.

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tcm

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yeah, but how to get out of the channel without taking cornwall?

There are significant cost savings in the general appratus of the state, namely that the skipper decides everything, and that's that. So, everyone would just have to support the Skipper, or get turfed off and er go and live in Ulster. Sorry Ulster.

Also need a large "Private Mooring" sign about 700 miles long to save our space.
Although...would we ever choose to park up on the north side of france ever again? It's a fairly rubbish anchorage, really.

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snowleopard

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Private Mooring

and a nice big sign along the south coast saying 'leaving 0500' or 'no mooring alongside'

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