WHAT'S A SAILOR TO DO WHEN THE OCEANS BOIL AWAY?
I have a hard time understanding why we want to send people to Mars.
We haven’t done such a good job with planet earth, and if we continue on our present course, planet earth may look like Mars when humans are finished with it.
If the truth be told, planet earth is headed for one final mass extinction that is more than a billion years away unless we do things to speed up the process.
Nearly a century ago T.S. Elliot penned the lines, “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.”
Eliot was neither geologist nor paleontologist - just a poet - but he may have gotten things right.
It turns out that many extinction events have occurred on earth that eliminated the majority of species that ever inhabited this planet. Scientists have identified at least five major extinction events, and some people believe we have entered the sixth event - the last and final extinction - the Whimper Extinction.
Fortunately, you will not be around for the whimper.
Here is the way Wikipedia describes the final extinction event.
The eventual warming and expanding of the Sun have the potential to wipe out even microbes.... Rising global temperatures caused by the expanding Sun will gradually increase the rate of weathering, which in turn removes more and more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When carbon dioxide levels get too low (perhaps at 50 ppm), all plant life will die out, although simpler plants like grasses and mosses can survive much longer, until CO2 levels drop to 10 ppm.
With all photosynthetic organisms gone, atmospheric oxygen can no longer be replenished. Eventually the loss of oxygen will cause all remaining aerobic life to die out via asphyxiation, leaving behind only simple anaerobic prokaryotes. When the Sun becomes 10% brighter in about a billion years, Earth will suffer a moist greenhouse effect resulting in its oceans boiling away, while the Earth's liquid outer core cools due to the inner core's expansion and causes the Earth's magnetic field to shut down. In the absence of a magnetic field, charged particles from the Sun will deplete the atmosphere and further increase the Earth's temperature to an average of 296 °F in 2.8 billion years, causing the last remaining life on Earth to die out.
So there you have it. Earth as we know it is doomed unless we learn how to survive underground in those extreme conditions.
Maybe that’s why were are going to Mars. If we can learn how to survive on Mars, then maybe we will know how to survive on earth when things get hot and the air gets thin. We have a billion years to prepare for ultimate global warming, and maybe this time we will get it right.
The worst part of this doomsday scenario is the part about the oceans boiling away.
I have a real problem with boiling oceans, and having them boil away is even worse.
Going sailing will require putting on sunscreen an inch thick.
That will also spark another great debate that will take thousands of years to resolve - Which is better in boiling oceans - multihulls or monohulls?
It’s fairly hot here in the Sea of Cortez in July, and the water is only 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and we are surviving just fine.
Back home in Phoenix, summer temperatures get up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit, and things start shutting down with those temperatures. I am thinking 296 degrees Fahrenheit is not going to work well for any of us.
On the positive side, Coronavirus cannot survive 200 degree temperatures, and people won’t have to wear masks any more, and the Covid 19 pandemic will finally be over.
Back in the here and now, we continue to enjoy the most awesome planet in the universe - the only planet known to harbor life.
In spite of the frackers and ubiquitous microplastics, we still live in a world of breathtaking beauty.
Our oceans are not boiling, and if you get away from the developers and the destroyers, you breathe clean air and you swim in crystal clear water.
If you get far enough away from civilization, life on planet ocean is still good.
I confess that I am less worried about global warming than I am concerned about the plastic plague. Microplastics and nanoplastics are in the air and water from pole to pole. There is no place to run and no place to hide from plastic unless you travel to another world.
We are engaged in a race to the bottom.
Will the demise of the sun in a billion years finish off life as we know it on planet earth, or will we accelerate the process and humanity create the final extinction causing us to die before our time.
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
Not with a bang but a whimper.
That’s all I have to say about that.
Awesome music video that captures the essence of what it's like to sail offshore in a catamaran around the world when conditions are less than perfect. David Abbott from Too Many Drummers sings the vocals, and he also edited the footage from our Red Sea adventures. This is the theme song from the Red Sea Chronicles.
Sailing up the Red Sea is not for the faint of heart. From the Bab al Mandeb to the Suez Canal, adventures and adversity are in abundance. If you take things too seriously, you just might get the Red Sea Blues.
If you like drum beats, and you like adventure, then have a listen to the Red Sea Chronicles Trailer.
Flying fish assault Exit Only in the middle of the night as we sail through the Arabian Gulf from the Maldives to Oman. And so begins our Red Sea adventures.
Sailing through Pirate Alley between Yemen and Somalia involves calculated risk. It may not be Russian Roulette, but it is a bit of a worry. Follow Team Maxing Out as they navigate through Pirate Alley.
Stopping in Yemen was just what the doctor ordered. We refueled, repaired our alternator, and we made friends with our gracious Yemeni hosts. We also went to Baskins Robbins as a reward for surviving Pirate Alley.
After you survive Pirate Alley, you must sail through the Gate of Sorrows (Bab Al Mandab) at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The Gate of Sorrows lived up to its name with fifty knots of wind and a sandstorm that pummeled Exit Only for two days. Life is good.
Captain Dave and his family spent eleven years sailing around the world on their Privilege 39 catamaran, Exit Only. During the trip, the crew shot 200 hours of video with professional cameras to show people what it's like to sail on a small boat around the world.
The Red Sea Chronicles is a one hour and twenty-two minute feature film showing their adventures as Exit Only sails through Pirate Alley in the Gulf of Aden and up the Red Sea. The professional footage documents their experiences in Oman, Yemen, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt, and the Suez Canal. It chronicles the rigors of traveling in a remote section of the world rarely visited by cruisers. Exit Only dodges Yemeni pirates, fights a gale and sand storms in the Bab al Mandeb at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The crew explores deserted islands on the western shores of the Red Sea, and learns to check the cruising guides for land mines before venturing ashore.
The Red Sea Chronicles also has outstanding Special Features including an Instructional Video on Storm Management that tells sailors how to deal with storms at sea.
And don't forget the two Music Videos: "The Red Sea Blues", and "Captain - Save Our Souls".
The Red Sea Chronicles is a first class adventure that stokes the sailing dreams of both experienced and wannabe sailors alike.
Join Team Maxingout as they sail through Pirate Alley and up the Red Sea
See what it's like to cruise on a catamaran before you spend a bazillion dollars purchasing one
After watching the Red Sea Chronicles you will be able to see yourself sailing on the ocean of your dreams
Although I like the feel of a paper book in my hand, I love trees even more. When people purchase an eBook, they actually save trees and save money as well. Ebooks are less expensive and have no negative impact on the environment. All of Dr. Dave's books are available at Save A Tree Bookstore. Visit the bookstore today and start putting good things into your mind. It's easy to fill your mind with positive things using eBooks. No matter where you are or what you are doing, you can pull out your smart phone or tablet and start reading. You can even use electronic highlighters and make annotations in your eBooks just like paper books.
