Rainbow Warrior 3 sets sail

[webcraft]

.
If you’re one of the 100,000 donors who bought a bolt, an anchor, a chart, a soap dish, a piece of her sail or the whole of her wheelhouse, then you will be pleased to hear that the ship you bought a part of, the new Rainbow Warrior, is now at sea.

She is crafted with sustainability in mind, from the silicon-based paint on her hull to the FSC wood of her cabins, to the onboard recycling systems and biological sewage treatment. The new Rainbow Warrior will primarily be powered and propelled by the sun and wind. She has a revolutionary mast design that will allowing her to carry more sail, and has all of the latest digital equipment allowing her crew to broadcast video from remote locations and tweet from any ocean.

Personally I wish her a long and effective life.

- W

 

[Rigger Mortice]

I'm never sure about the Rainbow Warriers deliberate, and probably sometimes reckless, provocation on the high seas. It certainly doesn't win me over.

The masts are interesting though.

 

[webcraft]

I'm never sure about the Rainbow Warriers deliberate, and probably sometimes reckless, provocation on the high seas. It certainly doesn't win me over.

She's not out to 'win you over', she's out there protecting the planet on your behalf whether you want her to or not

Nice to see Mk3 is a sailing ship though.

- W

 

[Robin]

I'm never sure about the Rainbow Warriers deliberate, and probably sometimes reckless, provocation on the high seas. It certainly doesn't win me over.

The masts are interesting though.

+10. Not interested in her masts either.

 

[elton]

Great!

 

[photodog]

She doesnt look very fast off the wind....

 

[planteater]

Fantastic. Glad my modest donation helped make this a reality!

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Mmmm.
That's the problem. Whether I like it or not. A few self appointed environmentalists are going to do what they want to do. Some of the antics of the Rainbow Warriers have been very questionable; more to do with getting publicity than anything else.

FWIW I am generally "pro" when it comes to environmental issues, though I am certainly not a rabid tree hugger. I think that there are idiots on both sides of the arguement. However I think the crews of these boats do their cause more harm than good and some of their antics have certainly been in the "idiot" category.

 

[planteater]

Some of the antics of the Rainbow Warriers have been very questionable; more to do with getting publicity than anything else.

It was the French Special Forces that made "Rainbow Warrior" a global brand. No protest group ever got more publicity than that.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

It was the French Special Forces that made "Rainbow Warrior" a global brand. No protest group ever got more publicity than that.

True.
I did say that there were idiots on both sides of the argument!

 

[Red Admiral]

A-frame masts aren't new. They have been tried many times before but usually abandoned as they have significantly higher windage and weight - not good for sailing to windward. Not many ketches now use that triatic stay joining the top of the masts. Too often failure of one mast would bring down both. All in all, not a very seamanlike rig. Hope its got a powerful diesel engine if it needs to get out of trouble.

 

[Whiskey Bravo]

Mmmm.
That's the problem. Whether I like it or not. A few self appointed environmentalists are going to do what they want to do. Some of the antics of the Rainbow Warriers have been very questionable; more to do with getting publicity than anything else.

FWIW I am generally "pro" when it comes to environmental issues, though I am certainly not a rabid tree hugger. I think that there are idiots on both sides of the arguement. However I think the crews of these boats do their cause more harm than good and some of their antics have certainly been in the "idiot" category.

Agreed.

 

[fireball]

Mmmm.
That's the problem. Whether I like it or not. A few self appointed environmentalists are going to do what they want to do. Some of the antics of the Rainbow Warriers have been very questionable; more to do with getting publicity than anything else.

Well - whether you like it or not ... a few self appointed "fishermen" will go out and overfish an area of ocean, a few self appointed loggers will fell a large area of rain forest, a few self appointed bankers will loose money for your pension fund ....

Greenpeace are only doing what they feel is right for the planet - not many organisations can claim that. They wouldn't be able to do it at all if they didn't have sufficient funding - so obviously a fair number of people give them enough money to go on these "antics" - which means that fair number of people believe in what they are doing - makes it sort of democratic* doesn't it?


Democracy - he with the most money wins

 

[webcraft]

A few self appointed environmentalists are going to do what they want to do.

Would you prefer government appointed environmentalists, or perhaps a quango with the board drawn from the ranks of leading industrialists?

Over $20m donations annually say a lot of people disagree with you. Maybe you will mellow if you ever get that spliff

- W

 

[Keen_Ed]

I'm never sure about the Rainbow Warriers deliberate, and probably sometimes reckless, provocation on the high seas. It certainly doesn't win me over.

Are you, perhaps, confusing Greenpeace with Sea Shepherd? Sea Shepherd are the people who played chicken with a Japanese whaling ship in the ex Earthrace round the world power trimaran.

I believe that there is no current link between Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd.

 

[Kelpie]

I think it's fantastic that Greenpeace seem to have found a way to make a 'green' vessel- quite inspirational in itself. Best of luck to them.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Are you, perhaps, confusing Greenpeace with Sea Shepherd? Sea Shepherd are the people who played chicken with a Japanese whaling ship in the ex Earthrace round the world power trimaran.

I believe that there is no current link between Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd.

No I'm not. I'm aware of the difference. The Sea Shepherd case was an example of the idiocy that I mentioned earlier.
However. GP has had it's share of cat and mouse games which are tantamount to deliberate, publicity seeking provocation.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Webcraft and Fireball,

Perhaps you hadn't fully digested my earlier comments. I'm not against environmentalism, it's just that I think much of the environmental lobby ends up overstating the case and, by doing that, puts many people off.

The argument about their level of support is pretty dubious. $20M is not an enormous amount and, if you were to compare that with, say, what this country alone raises for something like Children in Need, it is a piffling amount. However, that kind of claim ("look how much support we have") is part of the problem....the environmentalists too often claim too much for their side of the argument. Too often, for "middle-of-the-roaders" like me it just sounds like yet more politically correct rhetoric.

Don't misunderstand me though. Many of the claims by the deniers are ridiculous and, I suspect, based on foolish self interest and complacency. Some of the arguments which I have seen by some deniers on this forum leave me bemused and astonished....that's why I don't normally bother joining in on the environmental threads.

There! Having no doubt upset both sides of the argument I'll be persona non grata!

I just wish that there were more, down to earth, level headed discussion on this subject. It's too important to play games with. It would be more help, and certainly more persuasive for those, like me, who are inclined to support environmentalism but are not willing to become obsessive about it.

 

[Tanqueray]

I can see the logic in the masts - easier to find next time the French SS sink her.

 

[fireball]

Having watched the programme on Sea Shepard I do agree with you to some extent.
They were recorded as being very aggressive and IMHO they seemed to go out of their way to antagonise the Japanese fleet.
However, I'm not there "protecting" the whales like they are, I'm not faced with a fleet of vessels trying to get me out of the way so they can resume their activities and I know television will not tell the whole story.

But then I'm not contributing to their antics either - so it seems I'm like you - inclined to support environmentalism, but not obsessive about it.