Nice one Vernon. Love your lifestyle and beaut presentations. 85 now, and with the wrinkles of life starting to tell and slowing me down, i’m left only to reminisce. Relive, with the magic of youtube, some of the wee journeys to places i’ve been. So totally rapt with your video. Thank you. Oh how i Iove the Island of Sulawesi, a beautiful flower of a place, shaped like an orchid, with it’s own special fragrance and mystic charm, calling out to be seen and explored. So i bought a little Honda 125, tied on my bundle, and hit the road. Mid 1970 it was. My homeward loop back to Makassar (where I bought the bike and sold it back to the dealer) followed down the East side of South Sulawesi Province and around the coastline of the Bulakumba Region. Bira, right on the Southern tip, was a place i wanted to throw away my passport, didn’t want to leave. Then it was on to Tana Biru, a short ride away going West. The plan a for quick shufty around the place and move on got interrupted by what i saw there. Got caught up with the Perahu Pisisi story, happening all along the shore line, these hand built majestic ships at all stages of construction, from laying the 1st hull plank, to being inched towards the water for launch, to the 1st hoist of the sails. Absorbed in the trade of these Bugis master craftsman, handed down father to son, i stayed there 3 days. If your into boats Tana Biru is definitely not a place for a quick shufty around. I fell in love with the people of Sulawesi, and one lady in particular, born in the wee town of Gorontalo, who one day fine day happened to meet up with a fella, born in the wee town of Donaghadee, a long way across the sea in Ireland, who was just passing through. Been together 48 years, now living in Canada.

Spoiled first world yacht brats complaining about other countries rising out of a third world existence. 👎

Hey thanks for the video, really like your thought process and calm discussion on what options are left. How much shore line do you carry/ suggest for cruising areas like that? And is it all floating polypropylene? Cheers

Wow that was an eye opener. Great video.

As a mining engineer, I am desensitised to this. Australia has just as many sites even worse than this Indonesian Nickel mine. This one however sent the Nickel mine near Esperance bankrupt and BHP is not happy and neither are the 2,000 Aussies who lost their jobs a few weeks ago

Boy what a contrast, such an obvious difference visible on land and in the water ! Great video, hope your video gets shared to a wider audience. I agree with your conservation theme but maybe a lesson is also for humans to go experience/enjoy/learn about what we see now, as you never know what will happen in the future (natural catastrophes such as volcanoes also have destructive impact).

No offence to local Indonesian people, but this country's government is up there with the worst, all the while keeping very quiet 😢.

thanks mate, fair winds

So stop using your cellphone, notebooks get rid of your batterie on your vessel. Or dont complain. I mean this the reality and also these workers inntge mines have jobs to feed their families. Its not that easy!

The modern powerplants are smaller and much more safer than the old ones with new thechnologie, think you should inform you about the new technologie realy much more safer.

Interesting but not at all surprising. This is the result of human capitalism,and the greed of us ALL. I've been a sailor for 40 years with a plastic/fiberglass boat something that will take centres to break down if ever. There are no answers for us, just the inevitable. On KZfaq song video by Tapestry - Don McLean ( with lyrics) click more below

EVs. So good for the environment. Wait...

Chinese involvement! You can kiss nature goodbye. There’s always a coal plant. If you’re into pollution, check out their rare earth processing.

Apparently 70% of nickel is used in Stainless Steel production? I know there are other chemistries now shifting away from NMC, even though it’s still used quite a lot

is it EV? Like mobiles, laptops and few dozens of other equipment does not use same type batteries. EVs' batteries at least have proper recycling.

Great video. This sad truth is that in order to extract the minerals, they don't have to do it this way, hurting the earth and polluting the area. It costs more to do it cleanly, but it is very possible. The proper legislation accompanied by uncorrupt government officials prevents this.

Pitty that this happen because atom powerplant will be better

It's the way they survive.. leave a donation, perhaps everybody that complains should help the locals. Better research would change your thoughts. Seems most want the joy of the location and that's it.. Not trying to offend.. Please stick to what you understand and yes i have been here many times and spoken to the locals. Laws allows it, contact the government ! Safe travels . Look into it, the locals are well looked after. The Pilbara is no better..same same as they say.

very concerning indeed...

Only 4% of world nickel production is used in rechargeable batteries. But 68% is used for stainless steel production. Don't get sucked in by propaganda. I have two electric cars. There is exactly zero grammes of nickel in them.

It's not only nickel, gold mining in Lomkok and glass smelting. In general I got the impression that Indonesia has a different view on environmental protection than other countries

Well done ... you have honestly spoken about the division of reality and greenwashing rampant in the dialogue of alternative power generation. We all understand that POLLUTION is a beast that needs to be tamed in our Western materialistic world. Unfortunately, energy and pollution are tarred with the same brush which is used by the money/power brokers to at the same time feather their own nest and deprive people of lifestyle opportunities.

Great video. We spent most of last year sailing up through Indonesia from Australia. It really is a country of contrast, none more obvious than this one. Industry in general , over/illegal fishing and the lack of infrastructure are killing off parts of the country very quickly. The global demand is there and an emerging nation like Indonesia of course will aim to supply it. Battery technology will change, hopefully sooner rather than later. It is heart breaking seeing it up front. What is the answer?

Nothing to add, Humans just make a terrible mess of this planet.

Unbelievable, Disgusting!!! You would think that mankind would realize after the disaster of coal and oil that maybe they should stop and think about what they are doing BEFORE they just go and destroy the ecosystem!!!

Thank you for sharing this insightful and informative story. We too sailed there and were also shocked and heartbroken to see the landscapes being scraped away. I can hear the heartbreak in your voices and we feel it too. It’s a crying shame but at least you’ve spoken up and shone a light on this horrific situation 🙏🏼

All I can think of on the cover photos is a raw beautiful island, welcome and inviting. Then strip mining,next resorts,money moving in running everyone off that don't make them a profit. Then trying to "restore" the island for even more profit, making it completely different and restricted. The saddest truth about industry, NO WHERE on the surface of planet is untouchable to human industry these days, if there is something there we want bad enough,we will get it. Sad they couldn't have made spoil islands and left natural run off protection to try to protect the surrounding seas and sea villages. It wouldn't have been difficult and could have provided a lumber,fiber,and farming to the area by using the natural barriers in seasons, shifting the mining.

EV's have a very limited lifetime. Compare this to a well built car or truck that can be repaired over and over again for years if not decades. They are just like electric outboards. Great when they are new but the batteries have a limited life and are not environmentally friendly while being almost impossible to recycle and imposible for the owner to repair. Compared to a 20-25 year old Yamaha outboard or even an old seagull which can be repaired over and over and its parts are easy to service and recycle. The push to replace ICE's with EV's is related to greed, taxation and control. It is nothing to do with the environment. Thankfully more and more people are waking up to this. Let us hope it is not too late for our children and grandchildren..... Sail Safe Guys, Ant & Cid

10:10 incredible topic, you and your family create amazing content, I appreciate your work 🎉

It's shit, but it's relatively localised, unlike deforestation for palm oil. Poverty is always significantly more distressing and nickel mining is a means to an end. It's not best practise, but that can be improved by social pressure on the supply chain. First step is awareness.

The scary thing was we saw many survey pegs right down near the water line all over Labenke so we share your fear for its future. We're so glad we got to visit this paradise while it was still untouched.

Where is nickel commonly used? Whilst it is used for EV,s the majority goes into stainless steel which means boat owners are a major part of the problem of mining Nickel - Wikipedia About 68% of world production is used in stainless steel. A further 10% is used for nickel-based and copper-based alloys, 9% for plating, 7% for alloy steels, 3% in foundries, and 4% in other applications such as in rechargeable

Nickel is used in most electronic and electric devices. We are all guilty of it

Just sail on by bro

Nickel mines in Australia and elsewhere being put into care and maintenance, with workers losing jobs, unable to compete with the low production cost and low environmental standards of Indonesian production.

Glad you are talking about this is a fair way. Mentioning, we all, and you also are using batteries with nickel. And nickel of course is in other things as well. I would only add that I am not sure if it comes down to the lesser evil. It comes down to power and money. Nickel processing could be done without coal energy plants. I am sure it could be done so they respect the environment more, like re planting the trees, and so on. That would be the lesser evil. But the narcissistic psychopath money man, and politicians will just do what makes the most money, till they can get away with it. You now showed the the world what they can not see, how it is produced. So some of us will change our thinking, perhaps will do against the ways it is being done. Thank you.

The sad reality of so called progress... Modern living with the developed conveniences does have an earth cost... Tech is advancing so rapidly, that I am confident of a resource solution in time... Lets hope this happens before the earth chocks on our greed...

Heya Vernon and Marie and Eli very sad to see the land in such a bad way nothing really changes does it we apparently have to rape and pillage the land for the greater good what a load of shit just a bunch of greedy bastards and what happens in 50 years time does that country get invaded for there resources ah well my rant over awesome episodes guy's, love em.

Green energy isn’t that green is it….

These nickel mines have been in operation since long before EVs were a thing. New Caledonia is littered with them. A look at Google Satellite images and you see them all over the place. EV batteries only account for a low single-digit percent of nickel use. The amount of nickel in batteries is actually minute. There's more nickel in the stainless steel on your boat than in the batteries of dozens of evs. The title of this video reminds me of the false or grotesquely twisted propaganda coming out of oil industry troll factories. Why not say the dark side of marine-grade stainless steel?

Sad to see mining Vernon, but be very careful with your safety.

Why do you say it has something to do with EVs? Most of the nickel is used elsewhere and there are more and more cars using LFP, which are nickel free. So don't just go for the clickbait headlines.

Vernon, please take EV out of your subject line. 85% of world nickel went to other uses like stainless steel. Also not all lithium batteries use nickel. The ones on your boat are likely LiFePo4 which contain no nickel. Also EV batteries will be recycled, because they are a source of high grade ore, creating a circular economy with vastly smaller impacts compared to fossil fuels. This will take a while. Otherwise I agree with you. We humans can do things so much better.

Lifepo does NOT use nickel. Ever seen what coal mining in Australia does to the great barrier reef?

Amazing work guys, I like this style of video, almost like a mini doco 👏

Can people stop calling it NICKLE, it is Nickel.

Solid state batteries are just starting to enter the market and I believe Honda will use them, battery technology is rapidly changing. Nickel mining however won’t go away when batteries change their technology because nickel is used in so many technologies.

Doesn't scratch the surface of the great damage, corruption, greed and hypocrisy that the Oil Industry perpetuates. That being said, I think countries need to be much more protective of their non-renewable resources. Why let foreign companies come in and take it for a pittance of a royalty? Once it's gone, It's gone forever. Those resources should belong by Birthright to the citizens of that country. Another good video, Thanks for sharing

The headlong rush to renewables and “green energy” is without doubt, the greatest con played on humanity in our existence. Money greed and lies are the foundations on which the green dream is built. It’s sickening to see your footage of the rape and pillage of pristine land which will only get worse. Enjoy your blissful ignorance and false virtue as you drive your Tesla with the personalized number plates whilst you look down your nose at the oil and coal industry that has given you every conceivable luxury that you enjoy. Keep sleepwalking

Why don't they mine inland away from the most beautiful places on earth. That wouldn't be allowed in first world countries. On top of that, they are polluting the oceans. I bet that the big companies own that mine and paid off some politician to make it happen. Other than that, no one else is making any money. The labor is so cheap there that the workers are basically working for pennies or basically free. I don't think that people really want electric vehicles all that much. We should use Nikola Tesla free electricity and all have water powered vehicles.