| ▲ | root-parent 6 hours ago |
| Is going to take it one day at a time, on being a less evil bilionaire :-) "Zuckerberg faces questions over why superyacht reportedly declined to help stranded boat" - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/09/zuckerberg-s... |
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| ▲ | limagnolia 6 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| Reading the facts of this incident, it seems like much to do about nothing. The crew are saying that the request came in on a frequency they weren't monitoring (and apparently were not required to monitor.) The Coast Guard determined it was not an emergency. The criticism lies with those who failed to properly fuel their boat, not the crew who didn't respond to a request that came over a frequency they were not on. They can't monitor every frequency. I am open to new facts being discovered that changes this assessment. |
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| ▲ | detourdog 5 hours ago | parent [-] | | Where did you find these facts you read. In the USA a good Captain monitors VHF channel 16. This channel is used for establishing communication. To not monitor this channel is a dereliction of duty. I really doubt the USCG labeled a disabled vessel as a non-emergency. An immediate threat to life may not have existed but that is the difference between a pan pan and a mayday call. A disabled vessel close to land can easily wind up on the rocks and sinking. | | |
| ▲ | limagnolia 5 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/zuckerberg-y... https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article316824631.h... I haven't found any source that states what channel the request for assistance came in on. But multiple sources are reporting that the coast guard determined they were not in distress. | | |
| ▲ | detourdog 5 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | On the sea there are 2 levels of distress. Things are going wrong and may end up in a mayday call (pan pan) and things have gone wrong human life is in imminent danger. I have no doubt that a boat without propulsion is a pan pan call. When traveling the seas a watch must be maintained at all times using all available means. This involes looking, listening, and the use of any electronics available. The most common electronic device on a boat is probably a VHF radio. Channel 16 is the channel to monitor on watch. Well equipped boats will have multiple VHF radios to monitor more then one channel. I have no doubt the boat was well equipped with a professional captain. The other professional Captain in this story made a stink because launchpad was the closest vessel and they ignored a very old fundamental rule of the sea. This story has a happy ending because another vessel stepped up. We don’t know the alternative. The Captain of the Launchpad is choosing the inability to keep a vhf radio set to channel 16 rather than admit they ignored the call. | |
| ▲ | limagnolia 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Based on the wording of the response, and a review of the ship tracking data, it appears that Zuckerburgs yacht may have been actively communicating on a different channel, and once they switched back, the assistance from the cruise ship was already underway. Again, more facts may be revealed, but as of right now, I don;'t see any reason to believe the crew did anything wrong. | | |
| ▲ | detourdog 5 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | A yacht with their budget has multiple VHF radios to monitor multiple channels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_16_VHF The Launchpad didn’t break any laws they just revealed themselves to be a failure in good seamanship. | |
| ▲ | detourdog 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | I can tell you think they did not do anything wrong. My guess is you have no training in the rules of the sea. There is a reason why the cruise ship captain made a stink. There is code of conduct we try to live up and the Launchpad didn’t live up to expectations that other Captains hold sacred. It’s offensive. | | |
| ▲ | limagnolia 3 hours ago | parent [-] | | My code of conduct is to not criticize another human being without the facts. As I have stated countless times, I accept that there are many unknowns, if more facts come available that demonstrate negligence, I will accept them and expect accountability. | | |
| ▲ | detourdog an hour ago | parent [-] | | That is a good code. I personally have all the facts I need to form an opinion. I don't even think we disagree on the facts. I think we just disagree on the obligations of a captain at sea. |
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| ▲ | hadlock 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | The vessel was at least 100 miles from shore, the USCG did in fact label it a non-emergency. This is "radio shore for your buddy to zoom out with 50 gallons of diesel in a zodiac" territory. CHP doesn't send out an ambulance or medevac helicopter if your car runs out of gas on the side of the road. You get an uber to the gas station, or call your buddy to deliver some gas to you. The ocean currents in the gulf of alaska aren't particularly strong, you are looking at 1-3 days before getting within sight of land. Similarly, boats are not airplanes, as the philosopher Mitch Hedburg once pointed out, escalators aren't out of order, they are simply stairs. Boats continue to float with or without fuel. | | |
| ▲ | detourdog 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | All the Launchpad had to do was respond on the radio to the skiff, the cruise ship, or the USCG. They weren’t obligated to do more. A pan pan is a non emergency in a deteriorating situation. I don't know the area or the details at what happend. There is this quote from the USCG. “At approximately 9:56 p.m., the Coast Guard determined they [the skiff] were not in distress and issued a marine assistance request broadcast on their behalf,” Exactly what a pan pan call is. The biggest issue is the lack of communication and the excuse that a superyacht wasn't monitoring channel 16. |
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| ▲ | greyw 4 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| There are many many more things wrong with Zuckerberg than wasting my (our?) attention on ragebait nothingburgers like these. |
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| ▲ | shevy-java 40 minutes ago | parent | prev [-] |
| I don't think solo messages of "I did something good on this day" will help fix the negative karma billionaires amassed. IMO they only got rich via illegal and illogical means. In a democracy there should not be singular parasites that distort democracy by bribes; right now this is clearly the case with a (rather stupid) billionaire controlling the USA but it is a systemic problem. Those "investigations" are also way too mild. You need to really be able to have a justice system where billionaires face decade-long jail time if they abuse society. Just paying fine will not work, they just pay fines and nothing changes. They undermine the justice system. |
