Huxley

by John Curnow on 11 Aug 2017 As in Aldous. And yes, it is very much a Brave New World indeed… There is work, the stuff you have escaped, or if you are already out there cruising around, the work of the sea. There are many boats hitting the market, with the newest designs offering far more features than superyachts of not all that long ago, and they have become easier to operate than the TV remote in a lot of cases.

Seeing the thousands flock to the Sydney International Boat Show proved how ownership has even changed. In some countries the prices have risen so much that people are using the equity in their house to purchase a boat, and they have never been to sea previously.

Then there is part ownership, time share, or as it has been groovily re-titled, fractionals, which are becoming more popular by the second, as people use it as a way to see if the sea is really for them.

However, what I had been really waiting for was something to be a juxtaposition against la Vagabond. We had already seen a bit of it with the marvellous Mission Océan, but their core is the science, not the liveaboard life, per se, even though this is of course exactly what they will be doing.

Also we had been seeing that the younguns seemed to have a preference for the two lumps in the two, and the young at heart’s had mostly gone for the mono. La Vagabond was awarded the new Outreymer for their efforts in digital media stats. So in a case of all good things will come in time, as long as you are prepared to wait, well recently I got the very thing I had been seeking.

Fiona Harper is an accomplished travel writer and an adventurer by heart. She recently met photographer David Hartman, who was aboard his yacht in the South Pacific, and now the couple are enjoying the lifestyle that so many aspire to. Quite a few are taking off to explore their own new worlds, and of course, the companies providing goods and services need to adapt and embrace Huxley’s vision, as it were.

Fiona and David are now working with Dometic to demonstrate what can be done in the mobile age. Harper commented, ‘As storytellers, David and I are passionate about tracking down interesting stories and capturing wonderful photos from our travels. We’re excited to share our adventures with a global audience of enthusiastic travellers, and hope that our stories encourage curiosity about our planet, ultimately enticing others to travel.’

What is interesting is that will apply all their learnings to four wheel driving soon, and spend the other six months of their first year together ashore. Of course many iveaboards do just that when they either winterize their craft or return home to be with family for a spell.

Ultimately too, one of the things that comes out of this is yet another juxtaposition, in that here is a massive global brand with integrated technology that enables people to live, work and play off the grid in remote and exotic locations for extended periods of time. It employs 6,500 people at 22 manufacturing plants in nine countries, and sells the goods in over 100 around the globe, and it accounts for something like USD1.5B in trade. That this company chooses two souls bouncing around the Pacific speaks volumes for the fact that world is your oyster, should you be prepared to shuck it. To my mind that’s one hell of a brave new world….

Now speaking of monohulls, we had A Fine Entry earlier on, and soon we will have the results of our extended chat with Beneteau’s famous G3 about many a thing happening with the powerhouse builder.

We also talked of ownership options earlier, and a quick reminder for those in the Southern Hemisphere that September 9 is the date for the next Multihull Central Seabbatical Session, this time it is in Sydney, and when the details get confirmed we will post it immediately, so keep the date free for now. You can see what we wrote about earlier Seabbatical Summits here and here

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