I know some folks here have commented on the videos about SV Seeker, the 74′ origami junk rigged sailboat being built in Tulsa Oklahoma.
Doug, the guy behind the ‘Boat that the internet built’ sustained a serious head injury in an explosion in the boat.
While he is pretty well known for his disdain of people that value safety first, apparently he has payed a price for it. I don’t think it’s time for value judgments about that issue.
Below is a video from his partner Betsy, and a guy that was there when the accident occurred, who happened to be making a selfie video outside of the boat at the time of the explosion. It appears the explosion had something to do with an oxy-acetylene torch, but the details are unknown right now.
There is also a short interview with the neurosurgeon describing the serious head injury that Doug sustained. Doug sustained some non-life threatening 2nd degree burns but the big concern is sever bleeding in the brain, probably caused by the force of the explosion causing him to strike his head on something inside the boat.
Love him or hate him and his dream boat, you have to admire his spirit, attitude and the effort he has made toward achieving his goal of finishing the boat. He has attracted a lot of attention and a lot of help in the journey of building the Seeker.
I have mixed feelings about the project, I’ve been following the build since the beginning and it’s been a long and interesting journey.
I hope that Doug will fully recover, but seeing the CT of the injury to his brain, it’s a very serious situation. They have promised updates when they can post them. Jump in the thread.