Damn difficult to cruise the ocean in an airship.
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Only if it ended in the ship being taken by cannibals.
Looks like someone decided to build a working copy of HMS Thunderchild. Maybe they plan to get supplies by commerce raiding.
Blimey, CGI has improved a lot since then.
Yes, but given the amount that Bill and Melinda Gates have given away, at least there is a balance to what he keeps and spends on this kind of shite.
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it runs on the same fuel that powered the Hindenberg
OH, THE HUMANITY!
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You can’t deny that they float.
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Me and a friend once hatched a plan to start a commercial ferry service across a local lake. We would save fuel and cut operating costs by reducing water drag by having the ship attached to a helium balloon. We would name it Das Hindenboot. Then the tequila ran out and we sobered up and nothing came of it.
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And a parrot on his shoulder (and possibly a wooden leg).
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To put the cost another way, it is enough to house about a third of the chronically homeless in Seattle at median metro home prices, probably a larger share if it was put to new construction.
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That’s hands down the ugliest 644M dollar dingy I ever done saw.
Yay for checking.
The staring thing is that if it had not been Bill Gates, but some banker or pension fund manager then people say they earned the money and it was not their business how they spent it, and there would be no fuss. But Bill gates did a technical job, so it is immoral.
There was a post recently about how programmers and scientists should be responsible for the consequences of their work. There was no hint of any responsibility or consequences for those who finance it.
Grr. And likewise bah.
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There is a practical aspect to the superyatch, compared to the plane, in that you can probably hold out for longer during the zombie apocalypse.
*Shatner voice* What does Bill Gates need with a super yacht? Seriously, wtf is wrong with rich people?
Boing Boing should be more diligent about posting stories that are fake news. It deminises them as a source of second hand information.
Hint “According to the Guardian” should be a red flag there.
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A lot will depend on the water-making and food storage abilities of each. In theory, the blimp can stay aloft indefinitely as long as you don’t mind drifting aimlessly. This particular yacht uses hydrogen fuel cells and has enough storage capacity for one trans-oceanic voyage, not including its backup diesel engines. Drifting aimlessly is a recipe for disaster for the yacht.
Also, it would be easier for bad guys to intercept and board the yacht than the blimp.
And Max Brooks’ zombies traveled across the ocean floors and climbed anchor chains to attack boats.
ETA: More to the point, there’s no such thing as a flying zombie.
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Hey @frauenfelder , wouldn’t it be appropriate to edit this story to clarify that the yacht neither exists nor involves Bill Gates?
Wretched journalism, at least.
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On 10 February 2020, Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design issued a public statement in response to media coverage saying that its hydrogen concept yacht, Aqua, as referenced in this article, is “not linked to Mr Gates (or his representatives) in any form or matter” and that Sinot has not sold the concept to, and has “no business relationship” with, Bill Gates.
The fact remains, though, and it’s absolutely an unassailable fact, that Bill Gates definitely either did or did not buy a $644 million hydrogen-powered superyacht.
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