I spent a long weekend in Newport Beach, CA primarily to attend a Storylines update meeting. The first in person one since the project was founded (I want to say 2018?). Coincidentally it took place just a couple of miles from where my good friends Karine and Tyler not only live, but were gathering a group to attend a Planed Parenthood fundraiser/party. So not only did I get to see them but friends Chrissy, Heidi, DSpace and Weed. Which was a real joy.
I flew in early Saturday morning and spent the day exploring. It may be the fastest I’ve ever gone from a plane seat to being on the freeway. Partly due not checking a bag. It’s perhaps the first time I’ve flown without a laptop since the invention of them. Which was quite nice. As I had hoped the weather was fantastic. It was really nice to get a break from the hot and humid.
I walked, a lot, around Newport Beach and while extremely crowded it’s quite nice. The picturesque beach side town in a lot of ways. I only went down to the water to say I’d touch both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the same week 🙂 I followed that up with a visit to the sculpture park, specifically to see Bunnyhenge. An art project I knew about and had in my head as an “if I ever visit that area…” I didn’t sacrifice anything, but I’m pretty sure those bunnies are up to something evil. 🙂
Visiting Karine and Tyler’s place and the Fundraiser were later Sunday and I’m glad because I needed the rest from such an active Saturday. I was a bit concerned that a party with a lot of people I didn’t know the day before really having to be ON and meet a lot of new people at the Storylines update would sap all my social energy. Surprisingly though, it helped get in the mood. The fundraiser/party was fun. I talked to a lot of people and the conversations were generally deep. There were of course some political parts of the Fundraiser that just piss me off to no end. But that’s also why I was happy to contribute to help counter the pro-death “pro-life” ignorance.
Monday was entirely taken up by Storylines related things. While the update was only 4pm-7pm. 40 of us gathered for lunch followed by a singles meeting at the bar (which was kind of everyone, not singles) and a fair amount of post meeting social time. It’s worth noting that most of this was community organized.
Part of the reason to go to this update was to meet some of my future neighbors. I did my best to get around and I think I met 75 or so people over the 8 hours I was with them. There will be a 1000 on the MV Narrative, so it’s just sampling. However, I found everyone to be universally friendly, generally rather sharp and intelligent. Most importantly, people I could be trapped at sea with 🙂
I also wanted to meet and observe some of the Storylines people. Online presence isn’t always the whole truth after all. Alister the CEO and visionary in particular. I know I wasn’t the only one doing so either. From his “public” interactions, to his direct ones, to his interaction with a maid I overheard, I found consistency and decency. While there have been mistakes alone the way, I found him genuine, intelligent and going through all this in ways I’d do. (And HELL NO I’d not want his monumental job 🙂 ). One good example was setting 8 principles for Stroylines and using them as the guide path for the project. Burners will know the power of setting principles down like this. It’s a big reason Burning Man is unique in my view and I think it’s severing Strorylines well.
At the update I learned a few new details not worth putting down here. But mostly it was clarification for me and seeing how Storylines handled all the, sometimes passionate, questions. The big news is that the contracts are now being sent out(over a few weeks).
I also now have a good handle on how the financing of the project works. It’s dry stuff but also kind of interesting and of course really important I understand it. If you are interested it’s like the below. I’m also recording this for myself in case it turns out differently…
As we sign the contract, this kicks off a number of things that will quickly happen. (3-4 months). Signing the contract will be when us residences will pay our first 20%. This money goes into a Trust managed by a 3rd party. It’s kind of like an escrow in that funds don’t get distrusted until certain conditions are met.
As this Trust gets funded bank lenders can then sign off on loans as this provides an intent to buy. I believe these loans get paid off in the next 2 milestones because the ship is delivered without debt.
When the residents 20% and the loans are secure that then allows the State Guarantee to be finalized. This is a government (Croatia) backed Guarantee that if Storylines goes bankrupt, Brodosplit goes bankrupt or a bunch of other bad things happen that the ship is guaranteed to be built. It secures jobs and provides protection all around. It doesn’t guarantee I’d get any money back, but that the 1/2 build boat we’ve paid for will get completed in the event of something falling apart. Conveniently, there is a real world example of how this works out there with one of the new Disney ships.
With the State Guarantee established the shipyard contract then starts. Which meets the terms of the Trust and funds can then be used to pay the shipyard. Which will be buying steel and engines(which get installed first).
To complete the circle, once all these things are in place, some protections in our contract then come into play.
Now that I understand all of this, I also know what my risks are. If the project fails or has unreasonable delays then worse case the ship and hence my residence could be worth 80% of its initial value. Which means my risk is 20% of my residence fee. That’s a lot of money, but there is also a lot potential gain here, even if you’re just looking at the financials not the lifestyle.
The down side is that I won’t be moving on to the ship until late 2026, possibly longer. I’ve gotten my life ready for this already in most ways though. So it’s going to be quite the wait. I’m working on what to do in the mean time. There will be some opportunities to participate in the operational side of the ship management, but I’ll sill need to do something with my life in these next few years.
To conclude, I’m still “IN”. Not drink the Flavor-aid (It wasn’t Kool-aid) “IN”, but with observation and care. At least so far as getting the contract and having it legally reviewed.
