PACO REGO
@PacoRego
Thursday, November 21, 2019 - 4:16 p.m.
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The Vagabonde One million euros dragged by a candle the size of a floor (104 square meters of surface). Eight beds, two bathrooms, equipped kitchen, living room ... All amenities . Today Sunday is the fourth day of sailing in the Atlantic, heading to Spain, after sailing from the port of Hampton, in Virginia, USA. It would not be news if this catamaran did not take Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist on board - whose allegation twitched at the United Nations against the rulers of the world who were stealing her future and her childhood became vital and was criticized and applauded. equally in the networks - it has become a global icon of protests against climate change.
Greta, “uncomfortable”, “resabiada”, was invited by the Spanish Government to the climate summit that will be held on December 12 and 13 in Madrid, where some 20,000 participants from all over the planet are expected. She was willing to come but not at any price. The problem is that the girl does not travel by plane due to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted by the aircraft, or any other transport that pollutes. And that condition was (and is) non-negotiable. A headache for the Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, who had made the invitation publicly: "Dear Greta, it would be great to have you here in #Madrid ... We would love to help you cross the Atlantic back. Open to put me in contact to make it possible. " It was a want and I can't.
And then the Australian family, Riley Whitlum and Elayna Carausu, toured the world with their floating mansion , La Vagabonde, a catamaran of one million euros . At the helm, the couple of instagramers (Elayna adds 319,000 followers on her profile, Riley, 199,000 and her 11-month-old baby, Lenny, who also travels with them on board, 55,400 followers), handsome, environmentalists and lovers of the sea and the good life that was offered to the Swedish activist .
A gesture, in addition, that will report juicy income on his YouTube channel ( Sailing La Vagabonde) where more than one million subscribers, exactly 1,172,525, on November 13, continue their adventures. From this, and also from the design of ecological bikinis , made with recycled fishing nets, and the sale of hipster accessories , this modern Samaritan couple lives. And he doesn't live badly. The Tramp in which Greta Thunberg is coming has crossed all the seas and has already traveled 170,000 kilometers in the last four years. This is a catamaran, model Outremer 45, a familiar-type sailboat well known internationally. It is larger than many apartments : 19.5 meters long (length) by 10 meters wide (sleeve), has eight beds spread over four bunk beds, two toilets, kitchen. washing machine, refrigerator, GPS, autopilot ... And if the winds do not accompany, solar panels to recharge the batteries of a diesel engine that pushes the ship.
As for survival on the high seas, Whitlum, 32, explained in The New York Times how they manage their expenses: they spend $ 400 (363 euros) every two weeks on food and fish the fish they eat, as often show on your Instagram account.
His story starts in 2013 when, having no idea of navigation , Whitlum shapes his dream. "I had no rich parents, for eight years I worked on offshore oil platforms and in Australia's mines, saving every dollar to pay me a yacht."
The plan is launched with the purchase of the catamaran from three Italians in the town of Monopoli, Italy. He starts his adventure there and that of his current partner, Elayna, today with 26 years and whom he met in Greece while she played the guitar to liven up the trips of an agency. So, the expertise at sea was not exactly Whitlum's fort. He had to learn to navigate. "A man who was two boats away from me, Paolo, felt sorry and offered to take me in his boat so that he at least knew how to hoist the sails," he wrote in his blog the first time he took command of La Vagabonde . A year later and after making "many ridiculous and shameful mistakes," Whitlum mastered the technique a little more and eventually would overcome its limitations and unforeseen events.
"We have suffered terrifying storms , scares with pirates , equipment failures, water shortages and other interesting mishaps, but we would not change life at sea and go where the wind takes us for nothing," he says.
The road map of El Vagabundo marks the end of the crossing at the end of November, or beginning of December. Greta Thunberg and his father, Svante Thunberg, look like Pablo Iglesias, pigtail and beard, a wealthy bohemian , theater producer and television actor who never separates from his autistic daughter, if time and the ocean allow it, they would land in the port of Vigo or A Coruña, although Portugal is not ruled out either. In any case, a dream trip for the girl who feels, suffers, tears and cries over the climatic and meteorological abominations.
"We sail to Europe tomorrow morning! [On this Wednesday]," the Swedish girl wrote on her Twitter account, who has not been to school since she is an activist. It has taken a sabbatical year ...
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