Anyone who has had to find a parking space at the grocery store on Christmas Eve knows how stressful it can be. Those with larger vehicles, such as pickup trucks, especially know how difficult it is to squeeze into tight spots when there is so much chaos surrounding you.
But imagine having to navigate your way into a marina bay when at the helm of a huge yacht, with smaller boats also trying to find their own spots to drop their anchors.
A video on Reddit provides mesmerizing viewing, showing aerial footage of a yacht carefully reversing into a harbor during what's described as rush hour.
It's undoubtedly impressive, with the captain skillfully getting the massive vessel into dock even amid a flurry of activity. But it also poses a question: Why would anyone need such a boat?
"I am so poor that I didn't know boats have rush hour as well," one commenter said.
Yachts are famously a plaything for the rich, but just like private jets, they can cause significant environmental damage.
Writing for The Guardian in 2023, Chris Armstrong, professor of political theory at the University of Southampton, noted that "owning a megayacht is the most polluting activity a single person can possibly engage in."
Specifically, they were discussing the $800 million vessel owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
"Abramovich's yachts emit more than 22,000 tonnes of carbon every year, which is more than some small countries," Armstrong said. "Even flying long-haul every day of the year, or air-conditioning a sprawling palace, would not get close to those emissions levels."
To put the environmental damage into further perspective, Dezeen cited data from Spanish yacht refitting company MB92 Group, which noted that one superyacht can produce the same amount of carbon dioxide pollution in a year as 1,500 typical family cars.
Armstrong also pointed out that a lot of pollution is also produced during the yacht construction phase, and they observed that these vessels are exempt from the International Maritime Organization's emissions rules.
There is also the impact of boats on marine life to consider. Noise from oceangoing vessels can disrupt whale communication, affecting breeding, migration, and feeding. Boats have also been known to collide with the creatures — though some are fighting back. Meanwhile, superyachts have been found to directly release sewage into water, which can disrupt animal habitats and deteriorate water quality.
After shaking off the hypnotic pull of the Reddit video, some users expressed their jealousy that people have this kind of money to throw around.
"I wish I were rich enough to have this particular problem," one user said.
"This is simply fascinating," another added.
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