Talk Story
EVER want to get away? Is living in paradise too boring, too stifling? Got rock fever? If you have a few millions salted away, a new ship, christened The World of ResidenSea, might be just the ticket. A life at sea ain’t
the life for meExcept, there are no tickets to The World. Instead, residents buy a piece of the ship. The developers bill it as "the world's first luxury residential community at sea, comprised of 110 private apartments and 88 guest suites."
Guests can sign up for a cruise or buy a time share, while owners get a full-size condominium with all the comforts of home. The difference is that this home is a floating, architect-designed, multi-million dollar, two- or three-bedroom, oceanfront palazzo.
The literature gushes: "Central to The World's unique concept, the ship will continuously navigate the globe including major world events in its itinerary."
The inaugural cruise begins next February in Europe. If it stays on schedule, The World will drop anchor in Hawaii in late December 2002. After cruising the islands from Hilo to Nawiliwili, her residents and guests will arrive in Honolulu for the traditional New Year's Eve blowout.
Apparently, ResidenSea ranks Honolulu's New Year celebration with other "major world events."
The World's apartments aren't stingy little staterooms. They range in size from 1,106 to 3,242 square-feet and in price from about $2 million to $6.8 million.
Apartment owners can select from a range of decors from traditional to contemporary created by famous interior designers. Hirsch Bedner Associates, the firm that did the interiors at Honolulu's Kahala Mandarin Oriental Resort, designed the guest suites.
In case you're torn between The World and buying a home on the golf course at Pebble Beach, your needs have been anticipated. Among the ship's amenities is a 1,000-square-foot real grass putting green. That's in addition to two artificial greens and a bunker to practice sand shots.
Of course, there is also a driving range from which to hit balls at two floating target greens -- but only when the ship is in port. Luckily for golfers, that should be 250 days a year.
Whale huggers needn't fear that errant golf balls will pollute our waterways. "Real grass isn't the only green element of The World's golf program," promises the ResidenSea web site. "Golf balls used are 'ecoballs' and dissolve after 48 hours in the ocean; tees are made of corn and also biodegradable; and mats are made of recycled rubber."
Just imagine, ecoballs -- is there nothing they haven't thought of?
Well, as a matter of fact, I think there is. The World sounds perfect for wealthy senior recluses with bad investment advisers, but would you really want to spend a lifetime endlessly circumnavigating the world?
The ResidenSea experience brings to mind Edward Everett Hale's short story, "The Man without a Country," which describes the fictional plight of a court-martialed American Army officer, Phillip Nolan, convicted of treason in 1807 and sentenced to life aboard United States Navy ships.
How did Nolan fill his days cruising around the world for more than 50 years? Hale wrote: "He said his reading and his notes were his profession, and that they took five hours and two hours respectively of each day. 'Then,' said he, 'every man should have a diversion as well as a profession. My Natural History is my diversion.' That took two hours a day more."
Of course, that was before the navy offered golf at sea.
Perhaps stealing a page from Hale's story, the folks at The World say "residents will have an opportunity to expand their intellectual horizons as well ... enriching courses and classes will be also offered on a number of fascinating subjects: navigation, cooking, bridge, dance, arts, crafts, music and photography."
After a few decades at sea, endlessly studying and trying to perfect my golf game, I think I'd get an irresistible hankering for terra firm.
Maybe they'd let me mow the putting green.
John Flanagan is the Star-Bulletin's contributing editor.
He can be reached at: jflanagan@starbulletin.com.