Recap of Last Night’s Bay Area Seasteading Meetup

Last night, another lively seasteading event was held at The Fiddler’s Green Irish Pub and Restaurant, located just a quick walk from the Millbrae BART/CalTrain station. Eating, drinking, socializing and seasteading-related discussion are staples at every meetup, but each one is made unique by the formal and informal presentation topics and, of course, the people in attendance.

In addition to providing a forum for networking and socializing, we try to center each meetup around a particular theme to give the events more purpose and direction. The theme of last night’s meetup was “Time to Act,” and began with a presentation by Roman Zhovtulya on his project management software, iFocus, which we hope to use as a framework for greater community participation in the near future. Roman explained how his online software can enhance coordination between The Seasteading Institute and its volunteers, and ensure that the personal goals of individual volunteers are aligned with the overall goals of the Institute.

Later, Blueseed CIO Dan Dascalescu delivered the keynote speech, offering both a utilitarian and moral justification for a visa-free offshore tech incubator. He presented the most common arguments against more permissive immigration policies (including the existing laws and loopholes that will allow foreigners to take advantage of Blueseed) and convincingly rebutted each. During the Q & A, the focus turned to the technical feasibility of the venture. Dan, along with Blueseed co-founder Dario Mutabdzija, deftly handled questions from the audience ranging from, “How will a shipstead 12 miles off the coast access the internet?” to, “How will you create a stimulative, non-claustrophobic environment in a relatively small space?” Even where the ultimate solutions had not been settled, Dario and Dan laid out the alternatives being explored. In the case of internet access, for example, they explained some of the costs and benefits of various options including satellites, point-to-point optical laser on tethered blimps, underwater cables, and a buoy relay system. It’s clear the Blueseed team has done its homework, and we hope they benefited from the intelligent feedback from the meetup attendees.

Although many familiar faces showed up, the event also continues to attract new participants. Last night’s attendees included a self-proclaimed “sea gypsy,” who wasn’t sure she was in the right place at first but stuck around for the whole event, as well as a real life seasteading couple, who have been traveling the world on their houseboat.

While the Fiddler’s Green continues to serve our meetup purposes well, we plan to start rotating the location to give as many Bay Area residents an opportunity to participate as possible. If you have an idea for a presentation or theme for the next meetup, shoot us an email at , and stay tuned for information on upcoming events. We look forward to hearing from you!