The prices are coming DOWN, DOWN, DOWN in a desperate last ditch effort to get some money, any money to keep the Freewinds able to buy oil for the generators to keep the lights on.
$100 a day for a shared cabin and food is unheard of. The Freewinds used to charge Ritz Carlton rates for their Holiday Inn accommodations (the food was usually above average, but not spectacular). Now they are trying to get people to pay Motel 6 rates. And this is the PEAK season in the Caribbean. Seems the Freewinds is heading for a Mary Celeste* culmination to her 1,465,385.3 miles of 100% Sea Org safe cruising….
Obviously, the reputation of the Freewinds, based on the experience of so many, has drastically cut the number willing to pay for the dubious pleasure of subjecting themselves to full time regging and harassment. That and the fact that every OT VII is being told to redo Purif and Objectives.
I bet Melissa Denness rues the day she was removed from the cushy life of plenty in the IAS.
Freewinds Accommodations
ACCESSIBILITY
THE FREEWINDS IS MORE ACCESSIBLE THAN EVER
AND OPEN TO ALL SCIENTOLOGISTS
AT ANY LEVEL OF THE BRIDGE
New Reduced Rates
Theta, distraction free OT environment
Our new reduced rates give you:
- 7 days for shared accommodations for only $700
- A Congress course $250
- OT Hatting Convention for only $500
(Prices include all meals, afternoon breaks, midnight buffet, onboard entertainment and usage of
all onboard facilities: gym, cinema etc. in a 4 person shared cabin.)
Please answer the following questions:
- When do you plan to arrive to the Freewinds?
- Which service are you going to do? Do you have any questions in regards
to our services? - Would you like to know the different accommodations packages available
to you? - How can I assist you in your arrival to the Freewinds?
MAKE YOUR RESERVATION TODAY
Click here to watch a video about the Freewinds
Call me onboard the Freewinds directly at
1-727-445-4309 or email at
[email protected]
Here is another recent email:
Dear XXXXXXX,
New accommodation rates have been approved for all WISE convention attendees. These rates are absolutely blow-away and make booking your accommodations for the Freewinds easier than ever.With many rates as low as $100 per day, there has never been a better time to reserve your place.Contact the Freewinds office to book your trip–(800) 683-3284–or click here for more information on the convention.
Conventions In-Charge
WISE Western United States
Can you imagine the annual convention of ANY “business management technology” group having as their sales pitch to show up for their convention that the “rates are blow away” and “as low as $100 per day”…This is really pathetic. And desperate…
And here is another promo piece from just two weeks ago. You can see they are dropping their prices faster than even the price of gas is falling.
DID YOU KNOW
DID YOU KNOW
Our new rates give you:
- One week of accommodations for only $1,120, one Basic Book and Lecture course for only $300 and an OT Hatting Convention for only $500?
(Prices include all meals, afternoon breaks, midnight buffet, onboard entertainment and usage of all onboard facilities: gym, cinema etc. in a 4 person shared cabin.)
OR
- One week of shared accommodations for $1,120 and one Congress course for only $250 and an OT Hatting Convention for only $500?
(Prices include all meals, afternoon breaks, midnight buffet, onboard entertainment and usage of all onboard facilities: gym, cinema etc. in a 4 person shared cabin.)
Wait a couple more weeks and they will be offering to pay you to come..
* Mary Celeste was a British merchant brigantine. The ship is famous for having been discovered on 5 December 1872 in the Atlantic Ocean, unmanned and apparently abandoned (the one lifeboat was missing, along with its crew of eight and two passengers), although the weather was fine and her crew were experienced and capable seamen. (Wikipedia)
Perfect and probably prophetic.
“It hardly needs to be said that the Freewinds simply isn’t big enough to accommodate the crowds of people clamoring to get aboard, get trained, and take their next step toward redoing their first steps on the Bridge to Total Freedom. In fact, our statistics show that the ship is a full 47.3X too small to handle the expected greatest-ever numbers. Any lack of reservations was due to the fact that everyone assumed there was no room for them, so they didn’t even try! Those days are over, as Flag Land Base can squeeze in the needed number of students, guards, and registrars. And nonwithstanding that LRH took to the high seas to get free of interfering governments, we now control and influence the government to such an extent that it’s no longer needed…more proof, if more is needed, that we are truly, and without question “clearing the planet”!
For a limited time only, at the $2,000,000 donation level, you can become an Exclusive Premium Double Sapphire, Platinum-Encrusted, Unobtainium Knight’s Cross with Diamonds and Oak Leaf Clusters Private Triple Crown Golden Detonator Club Member. From among these lofty ranks, COB will choose one lucky being who will have the opportunity to purchase the rights to push the button and fire the scuttling charges that send the Freewinds to her final resting place at the bottom of the sea, directly over the wreckage of the Japanese submarine that LRH singlehandedly sank during WWII, saving California from invasion. For an additional fee, they can choose to have a picture taken wearing a replica of COBs Captain’s hat (with insignia covered) when they push the button. (Local orgs will soon receiving information on fundraising plans for the purchase of the button, wiring and explosives.)
What is the matter with Tiny Fists? Why is there no Ideal Ship?
I give you the Star of California in Hemet.
The problems of the Freewinds and all the accumulated bad PR of the Church will be terminatedly handled in little big man’s speech at New Year’s, December 2015. A special correspondent has revealed some of it here:
“And that brings to a conclusion this year’s event. Looking back we can see a civilization forming where there wasn’t one before, and wherein critics who brazenly were promoting our demise have all had to eat crow when they see ideal orgs cropping up in the most unlikely places with packed course rooms and people literally beating down the doors as you can see in this photo. Moreover and notwithstanding the fact that we are not going away, those same individuals who were attacking us, need I mention that dirty word psychiatry? (nervous laughter) are undoubtedly in apathy in confronting the magnitude of their failure, for make no mistake about it, when the final score is tallied, any individual with at least two brain cells to bounce together will want to be on the winning side, and that my friends is why we work so hard at keeping the tech pure, so not only you, but all future generations will be able to avail themselves of this knowledge, and I am not exaggerating in the slightest, lest you ever entertained the notion I was, (more nervous laughter) when I tell you that we have reached critical mass in the unveiling of the new Golden Age of Tech III, your future of eternity secured just like LRH intended! THE WAR IS OVER!!!!!! (thunderous applause and standing ovations). Thank you.”
Thank you Mike for the biggest laugh I’ve had all day! You channeled DM and Dan Sherman all in one. It was like I was there listening to the Pope on a Box again. Well done.
Thanks Cindy, I just fired up my nonsense circuit and let her rip!
Hi! I’m the new spokesman for the Freewinds. You may recognize my voice. But I’m just here to tell you that we know that you all want to have your cases ruined and over-run and all that, but times are tough. Money is tight these days. Especially after making all of those donations with no exchange.
So, just to show you all what nice folks we are, do we have deal for !
…You can come to the ship for just 100 bucks a night! That’s right. 100 bucks a night. You sure can’t beat that. In fact that’s almost the same price that my previous employer charged for a room and they wouldn’t even ruin your case. But now that’s our specialty. So come on down to the Freewinds.
We’ll leave the light on for ya.
(just as long as you pay the electric bill in advance)
-Tom Bodett
http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2015/01/21/seven-seas-explorer-keel/22099859/
forgot the link
Davey, some wogs are building a better ship than you’ve ever seen! You’ve got to one-up them! Perhaps you need to start getting some renderings paid for…
You know, I am starting to wonder how many Church members may have died of Cancer as a result of direct exposure to high levels of asbestos aboard the Freewinds.
I am wondering if the 1.465M 100% safe Sea Org miles includes the kitchen fire when I was on the Prison ship. I say prison because they refused my pre-scheduled exit from it and they gave me a free ride from Curacao to the Bahamas after refusing to release my passport. With hindsight I should have gone directly to my Embassy and told them what happened.
I worked on boats for 3 yrs as a fitter.
The cost of just keeping them afloat is mindblowing,it just never ends maintenance, preventive maint,breakdowns add to that marine grade parts paint,grease,brass,stainless steel etc cost twice as much as standard.
If they want to continue to keep the freewinds going and they don’t have passengers to pay somebody is going to have to foot the bill.
There is a saying amongst boat owners”A boat is a hole in the ocean you throw money into”
Curious as to who will pay the bills and who’s jurisdiction the freewinds is under(SO,IAS,RTC)
Based on available public records, it looks like the Freewinds Port of Registry is Panama, Panama City.
The Ship itself is owned by a Scientology affiliated company named San Donato Properties. The company, “San Donato Properties” apparently does not employ any staff, and is a subsidiary owned by another Scientology affiliated company called Transcorp Services. Transcorp Services does not employ any staff either, and all its shares are owned by another entity: Flag Ship Trust (FST), registered in UK as a non-profit religious trust. If anyone ever tries to sue for any damages suffered aboard the Freewinds, well, good luck with that. There are layers and layers of front companies that you have to sue and get past even before you reach CoS
Ya, if you ever feel the slightest bit nauseous because of the blue asbestos that they’ve never stripped out of the decades old ship, you’re out of luck. It’s best you get off as soon as possible and…oh right, they took your passport.
The good news is that you can’t beat time. The structural integrity of the hull is bound to go sooner or later and it will have to be decommissioned. The question then is do they raise (reg for) another money-losing ship for the OT8s in an expensive and slavish adherence to ‘LRH policy’ or do they move everything on land in what would be financial prudence but also public failure.
My guess is when the ship becomes decommissioned, there won’t be enough OT VIII public to go on it because they aren’t producing VII’s in any big number and all the OT VIII’s are redoing Purif and Objs and SRD. So without public demand for OT VIII, there is no public to deliver to. So instead, I think they’ll move in on land to Flag, maybe even in the SP Building. And they’ll figure out some way to reg money for it and use it as they used Super Power Bldg for years to reg money.
Scientology, the only game where everyone whines.
YAY!!! The Freewinds is finally sinking. It’s about time.
If you beat a dog long enough if won’t come to you.
Freewinds and corporate $cientology services – same sort of scenario really except in a suit and tie.
The first step of recovery – GET RID OF MISCAVIGE! No organisation can afford an asshole like that running it.
Let’s just say that when someone arrived at the Freewinds, they refused to turn over their passport. What would happen? Would they be denied access to the ship?
Obviously, the MAAs would be all over the person, for “counter-intention and hidden crimes,” IF the person was already a scngist, but what if that person was the non-scngist spouse of some whale?
What if you refused to donate to any cause and just wanted to be on course?
Is it even legal to ask for someone to turn over their passport “for safekeeping”?
This is exactly what happened to me when they took my passport, I went with my OT girlfriend. We went for a vacation but it was a vacation in hell. One night we were retrieved from dinner before we finished to go to a iAs event. People were always following me into the bathroom and into the workout room. Regging non stop. My girlfriend got sent to ethics for days and I finally left early with my passport. They would not let my girlfriend leave with me.
I had a lot of “counter-intention” when I found out upon arriving on the Freewinds that I was expected to surrender my passport without batting an eye. Why should I have to do that? It really bothered me the whole time I was there. I knew that it was a control mechanism and that it was a way to let us know who’s “in charge”. I didn’t like it at all and have wondered if it is legal to do that. I never found out and it became a moot point to me because I was determined to never go back to the “Freewinds” again. Looking at this again makes me wonder though.
“Every time I think of the Freewinds, the old nautical term “rust bucket” comes to mind.”
For some weird reason all I could think of when I read the above was: All cabins will come with large plastic containers of beans and rice and a length of rubber tubing that attaches to a socket in the wall. In times of low or no ship fuel passengers will be given an eight hour advance warning to make sure that they consume the contents of the and connect up the tubing which will evacuate the resultant “freewinds” into the newly installed gas tanks.
Since Cooper didn’t provide a definition for daveshit, I took the opportunity to clear it up. First, let’s start with something we all know.
Bullshit
A blatant lie, a fragrant untruth, an obvious fallacy.
Or, the excrement of cattle.
“I smell something…
Is it dog? No…
Is it horse? No…
I know. It’s BULLSHIT!”
Daveshit
The above definition times 47x.
“I smell something…
Is it wog SPs? No…
Is it the psychs? No…
I know. It’s DAVESHIT!”
“Illusion is needed to disguise the emptiness within.” – Arthur Erickson
A friend of mine was telling me him and his wife just booked a cruise ..and this guy has been on a lot of cruises. This year him and his wife will travel for $500 a week per person ,,, on a nicer ship than this, with better food than this, with no batshit crazy cult members to bother anyone. Im sure he wont be taking a class either … LOL
And no routing forms with stops at the IAS reg … and the World Dissem reg … and the WTH reg … and the new LRH Hall reg … and the CCHR reg … and the Tech estimate reg … and the Bookstore Officer … and the ……
I think the appropriate term here is “Loss Leader.” Cause folks … even when the rooms are given out “free” …. I got news for you … it ain’t free … well, I know that’s not really news to people who read this blog, but just in case a Freewinds prospect should “stumble” into our chats here (of course no self respecting Scientologist would purposely be reading this blog … maybe they would just be searching for a “Mike Rindel” or something … yeah, that’s the ticket … they got on the site by “accident” …. yeah, tell that to the EO)
The Freewinds collects your passport first thing when you go aboard. No other cruise ship does this. Why?
In my experience, all cruise ships travelling to other countries collect passports at the start of the cruise and return them at the end. In the past, you didn’t need a passport to travel to most of the Caribbean (a driver’s license was sufficient for identification), but that is no longer the case.
The Drinkwater Diaries—Day 1
By JennyAtLAX
January 21, 2015
Dear Diary,
Just arrived on the MV Drinkwater®. Wow! What a deal for only $6.66 a day for a cabin with an ocean view and all the food you can gorge. Brilliant! I couldn’t resist their ad:
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Prices include:
1. All junk food (before, during, and after meals, breaks, and snacks; morning, afternoon, evening and midnight buffets; nocturnal sleep-related binging).
2. Use of onboard facilities (gym, photo ops only; pool, no diving, swimming, or sinking; etc.).
Kindly answer these questions:
1. When did you first decide to blow from the Gold Base?
2. What suppressive acts did you commit against the Gold Base?
3. Why did you infiltrate the Gold Base?
4. What were your anti-Gold Base actions or intentions?
5. Why were you hypercritical of the Gold Base?
6. Why have you departed from the Gold Base?
7. How can we assist you in achieving the best blow from Gold Base?
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Call me onboard the MV Drinkwater® directly at
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We hope to make your stay on MV Drinkwater® a most happy one!
[For all the excitement of JennyAtLAX’s Diary entry, including any and all imbedded links, please visit:]
https://jennyatlax.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/the-drinkwater-diaries-day-1/
Mike your site has a “bare-bones” appearance, as though something might have been hacked. Is it just on my end?
PS Keep up the great work!
BT — I don’t know. Have had a few complaints about this recently but it seems sporadic. Some tech whizzes were trying to resolve it and have made some changes in the last couple of days hoping it would work… I guess not.
I don’t see anything different on any of my computers or phone. And neither do a lot of other people. But some do.
It’s a bit of a puzzle….
I think I might have been the first to report this phenomenon Mike, about a week ago. Over the last few days it seems to have oscillated between ‘bare bones’ and ‘proper site’. Sometimes it’s one, sometimes the other, and on other occasions the home-page looks ‘proper’ but opening an individual page shows the ‘bare bones’ format. I’m not complaining- just feedback in the hopes it may be useful.
Thanks GRaham. The tech nerds are working on it. That is NOT me. I am a dinosaur when it comes to computers and the internet….
I started to experience sporadically this phenomenon more than half year ago.
This is my educated guess: The bare bones is the web page format for low speed internet. Some modern web browsers detect the speed and automatically change between proper site and ‘bare bones format according to the speed. A temporary low speed may be due to the ISP (internet service provider) or the website speed fluctuation (or both simultaneously).
I will never physically enter an org or a ship willingly or pay one penny but take every penny that has been extorted.
typo – bed=best
Mike, thank you for everything you do – I know this will be hard but try to kick back and relax and enjoy the fruits of your hard work at sundance.
All the bed to you and your loved once – words like “loved once” break my heart – hopping against all odds.
Your comment about the cost of the fuel to “keep the lights on” got me thinking. A ship as old and inefficient as the Freewinds (nearly 50 years old) would definitely be a huge fuel pig when under way, probably burning at least 30 tons a day, which (if they’re burning IFO380 grade bunker fuel), would be over $9,000 per day. http://shipandbunker.com/prices/am gives current prices of bunker fuel in Aruba, where the Fleawinds spends most of its time rusting. A metric ton of IFO380 is about $300 these days, down from close to $400 last year.
With the ship spending more and more time on the dock due to mechanical problems and lack of passengers, let’s look at what the fuel cost would be when it’s rusting in port instead of rusting at sea.
It turns out that most ships burn fuel even when parked at the dock for weeks at a time, to keep the generators turning. You’d think there would be some way to plug the ship in to the electrical grid at a major port, but no… Until the last few years when fuel prices spiked heavily, it wasn’t a huge priority. Because of pollution from cruise ships on the dock in ecologically sensitive areas like Alaska, there’s now a big emphasis on requiring newer ships to be able to support “cold iron,” the ability to turn off all fuel-burning systems when in port, hook up to a high-voltage local power grid, and then only go back on internal power when leaving port.
It’s certain that the Freewinds is so old that it can’t support running in “cold iron” mode. This is not something you could easily refit to older ships, by the way… So the Freewinds will never get there. It will continue to burn fuel 24 x 7 x 365 unless it’s being laid up in dry dock for major repairs or refits.
I found a marine engineering project here that surveyed a bunch of ships in various Dutch ports for fuel burn rates and correlated against their gross tonnage. http://cnss.no/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/fuel-consumption-web.pdf.
The Freewinds is small by contemporary standards, only about 10,000 gross tons. According to this study, merchant ships of this size typically burn about 150kg per hour. Pages 22 and 23 have data for RO/RO passenger ferries (which the Freewinds was before conversion to a cruise ship) and for oilfield service vessels, and the data fits nicely on curves.
The Freewinds fuel burn would probably be substantially higher than the numbers in this study because there are more people aboard and it’s in the Caribbean, so loads on sewage/plumbing and on air conditioning would be higher than on a merchant ship, where the cargo spaces are not air conditioned. And the Freewinds is also going to be far less efficient at running a given load than modern ships (most merchant vessels, particularly those calling into ports in advanced economies where there are more ecological regulations, are going to be less than 20 years old, so I’m assuming that 90% of the ships in this report are ).
So let’s assume the Freewinds burns about 250kg per hour while docked. That’s 6 metric tons per day. At a current price of $300 per ton, it’s thus chewing up $2,000 per day, or about $750,000 per year of Dave’s money just sitting at the dock and doing absolutely nothing. That’s a conservative estimate and the actual number is probably quite a bit higher. And that fuel burn is every minute of every day, even if the Freewinds has nobody but Sea Org and RPF slaves aboard.
Assume the Freewinds spends 60 days at sea, for another $500,000 to $600,000 of fuel costs per year. The total fuel bill is probably $1.25 million to $1.5 million.
Now, let’s consider what it would take to make the Freewinds a profitable venture with that fuel cost. If we look at the financial statements of Carnival or any of the other big cruise operators, we find that fuel is over 10% of sales. Carnival’s 2014 annual report lists fuel costs of $2.03 billion on $15.88 billion in revenue, or about 12.7% of costs. Like Scientology, cruise operators use slave labor brought in from far-off countries, so their labor costs are roughly comparable.
Point is that the Freewinds needs to be generating something like $10 million to $15 million in sales for fuel costs not to eat too much of its profitability. That’s absolutely not happening here. When I’ve looked at the matter closely, the best I can come up with is that the ship generates $4 million to $5 million per year in revenue. And that was two years ago; I strongly suspect that passenger boardings have declined significantly since then.
It’s got to be ugly on board: not only are revenues going down but costs are going up. As the ship ages, repair costs will keep going higher per operating hour or per year. And these are real cash costs that you just can’t cut. They’re not costs you can manage by replacing paid staff with Sea Org or RPF slaves. Incidentally, the old Scientology trick of screwing your contractors on land doesn’t work well at sea. Admiralty law makes it pretty easy to “arrest” (i.e., impound or repossess) a ship when you haven’t paid the bills. If you blow out of Aruba and head somewhere else to avoid paying your dry dock bills, don’t worry, bounty hunters will eagerly grab your ship wherever it lands and will hold it until you pay your bills, or they’ll just sell it.
Currently the REAL cruise lines are scrambling to ‘capitalize’ on Cuban tourism. They are frantically beefing up port capacities, but their current plan is to drop anchor off the coast and shuttle tourists to Cuba.
Cuba has FEW hotels for tourists. Since Dave is specializing in the bottom of his Bridge these days. he could fill up his Bucket of Bolts with new, ‘raw meat’, public services. He would need to order Captain Mike to get the Rustbucket to a tourist port in Cuba. Then he could go back to charging Ritz rates for Motel 6 services. Dave’s rusty hotel would fit right in with those old ’50s Chevys in Cuba. This set-up will offer an improved escape route for Dave from his negative karma that is out to get him.
This is why I love you John P. You do the heavy mental lifting.
John, excellent analysis. Based information from Wikipedia the current Freewinds ship have a capacity of 360 passengers. Assuming all 360 passengers pay $100 per day, the maximum amount would be $36,000. When you subtract all costs such as fuel, food etc, you can get a very close estimate as how much profit if any, the ship is actually making
Wow, John P. Capitalist, you are the bomb. I mean that as a compliment. I am so impressed with your research skills and mental acumen. I bow to your mental prowess. Thanks for all you contribute to this blog, and as usual, thank you to Mike for the great topics you cover with facts, wit and sarcasm to shine the light on the things that need to be seen and handled. You are one of the first things I read every morning. Don’t stop. (Get your mind out of the gutter, Old Surfer Dude, I meant that last thing as an innocent compliment.)
JPC – I enjoyed reading your explanation above and as usual, you make a lot of sense.
David Miscavige really doesn’t give an F, if you know what I mean. That’s what the parishioners are there for. To sponge off of and beg for money from. Whatever problems the Freewinds may have now and will have in the future will be the problems of the parishioners. It’s up to them to make it happen and make it go right. That includes paying for fuel, which is being begged from them as we speak. If the parishioners/whales don’t save the day, Miscavige can always keep it to live on in hiding, scrap it, or whatever. He has plenty of money at his disposal to do what he pleases with it, since he considers it his personal property (paid for by others) anyway.
Just love a John P. analysis. Its a pity that common sense is not a factor in scientology. Without looking at the breakdown of other costs for the cruise ship market, I would guess that fuel costs, wages (not a factor here!) and maintenance costs are the main drivers. Major cruise lines would strive to keep their ships at sea generating revenue to the maximum extent, but that might work out to a maximum of 2/3 of the time (4 months in port/maintenance , 8 months operating. Ballistic missile submarines with two crews rotating achieve the 2/3 number only through dedicated effort and an abundance of cash.
So, welded to the pier, she is certainly running generators. Even if shore power is available, there are gensets running to manage peak loads and stand-by for drops. I am sure that the ABCs are all state of the art shore power providers… Its the 30,000 hours a year that eats up generators (assuming they are off line half the time, sharing a load).
Disregarding the maneuvering systems (main engines, pumps, etc) simply keeping the lights on, and all the super-annuated systems (over stressed air conditioning, potable water and sewer, countless refrigeration systems, laundry, galley, etc) means that systems have to be crapping out with frightening regularity and kept going by exhausted ‘make it go right’ slaves with no money for parts.
Point is, even if she doesn’t even burn a drop getting underway, she is being worn out. and you know they lavish cash on stuff the customers can’t see, right? I think they use available cash to pay off local regulators during inspection visits.
Thanks, John, great job.
Great comments. I posted above but this might be more appropriate here. By what I understand the Freewinds is basically at its technical lifespan as a cruiseship (50years even after extended refits)
http://www.frommers.com/articles/4397.html
Well even being a wig.. Krusty deleted me from facebook and Twitter
Wog!
She doesn’t like people who throw around out-gradient scientology words that would require explaining to her followers. Perhaps she holds them in contempt?
Dave,
Your floating (barely) Motel 6 just can’t compete with the REAL cruise ships in the Carribean.
Yes, but they don’t get the inval, eval and crush regging that are included in every trip.
… And they don’t get several intensives of unnecessary programming and sec checking; they don’t get someone telling them they need to get posted on the OT Committee in their area and then get out of non-E on the ship. They don’t HAVE to do a course they don’t want to do and didn’t sign up for. They don’t HAVE to watch an effing video of Tom Cruise telling them they’re either in or their out and how to KSW. They don’t have go to the effing MLO who will tell them that their sea sickness is case (even though another REAL doctor has told you that you have inner ear sensativity to motion), thereby getting more NOTS to handle your seasickness. On and on.
God anybody that goes to that Motel 6 is an idiotic fool.
Whoops another typo
“theta, distraction free environment”
should read “theta-free environment”
Like ASHO, Flag, and Saint Hill,Freewinds is no longer an elite place to go and relax, become more whole. Their advertising blares it is open to Anyone at ANY LEVEL OF THE BRIDGE! (Insert appropriate exclamation tech here)
This means it is simply another place to avoid because you will go there to be subjected to more of the high-pressure yelling screaming make-wrong bleed you dry tactics that have become the very core of Scientology “scripture” today.
And even more so than any other place, a place you truly must avoid because at least at a land-based Org, somewhere in the back of your mind, you at least feel as though you can find a way to slip out the back door in dire circumstances. On the “Free”winds, you are truly and completely a prisoner.
Very true Valerie – all of it!
That’s the “Standard Scientology” experience.
The rates they are quoting are not really a bargain. People can still get rooms in pretty good hotels for under $100 per day. So what is all the fake excitement about?
Its comparative. They used to charge 3X that. The daily rate also includes food.
It’s $100 per person if they share a cabin with three other people. I believe that used to be called “steerage.”
Wouldn’t that possibly be out-2D?
So when is slappy going to start raising money for the new ship that will take 10 years to design?
I think he’s already got one at Hemet, right Mike? Should be about the right size.
Ships have a usable life span,they are not good forever.
Freewind’s is past that, could be renamed Zombiewind’s.
Or Freakwinds.
Freak wins?
A point I have noted previously. She was an old bucket when the small cruise operators unloaded her on the market as unprofitable, asbestos and all. Built in 1968, it doesn’t matter how many refits she has had, she is just old. Pity the poor slaves trying to keep it gasping along. Imagine the systems that are now fixed with baling wire, chewing gum and duct tape because they are obsolete and parts simply aren’t available. All the real money spent on her is probably used to keep the glitzy veneer nice, but you know that is really starting to look ratty when they have to beg for fuel money.
It begs the question, what is scientology to do?? Inevitably, it will have to be scrapped. Will they have to start raising more money to buy a replacement? Can they possibly decide that oatee ate can suddenly be delivered ashore at flog? Isn’t that contrary to what the hubster said? Do they drive her ashore at some convenient spot in the ABCs and continue to run the scam from drydock?
Mike, what do you foresee as the options for when this thing has to go away?
“Flog”. Good one 🙂
I’m going to guess that the comment above (how the demand for OT8 is now so big we have to move it to Flag) is the correct answer.
“It hardly needs to be said that the Freewinds simply isn’t big enough to accommodate the crowds of people clamoring to get aboard, get trained, and take their next step toward redoing their first steps on the Bridge to Total Freedom. In fact, our statistics show that the ship is a full 47.3X too small to handle the expected greatest-ever numbers. Any lack of reservations was due to the fact that everyone assumed there was no room for them, so they didn’t even try! Those days are over, as Flag Land Base can squeeze in the needed number of students, guards, and registrars. And nonwithstanding that LRH took to the high seas to get free of interfering governments, we now control and influence the government to such an extent that it’s no longer needed…more proof, if more is needed, that we are truly, and without question “clearing the planet”!
For a limited time only, at the $2,000,000 donation level, you can become an Exclusive Premium Double Sapphire, Platinum-Encrusted, Unobtainium Knight’s Cross with Diamonds and Oak Leaf Clusters Private Triple Crown Golden Detonator Club Member. From among these lofty ranks, COB will choose one lucky being who will have the opportunity to purchase the rights to push the button and fire the scuttling charges that send the Freewinds to her final resting place at the bottom of the sea, directly over the wreckage of the Japanese submarine that LRH singlehandedly sank during WWII, saving California from invasion. For an additional fee, they can choose to have a picture taken wearing a replica of COBs Captain’s hat (with insignia covered) when they push the button. (Local orgs will soon receiving information on fundraising plans for the purchase of the button, wiring and explosives.)
Man, whoever sold that garbage scow to Scientology must have danced with joy that somebody actually gave money for the asbestos-laden bucket of shit. There was a picture book (I wonder if it’s still around?) on the ship that showed what it looked like when they got it. It should have been sent to the breakers then. I’m surprised anyone, much less the SO, could have kept the thing floating this long.
My guess is that Dave will not be able to raise enough money by the time of the Fleecewinds’ inevitable demise. He’ll pull some bullshit off like, “in 19-whatever, LRH brought the Sea Org ashore, and the Flag Land Base was born!!! Now, COB retraces our Founder’s footsteps blah blah blah more Shermanspeak…”
I went to the ship about 12 years ago. First they take your passport, then there is the ridiculous routing which takes the best part of 2 days to complete. Everyone you go and see wants to sell you something – buy some over priced crap from the gift shop, upgrade your already over priced accomodation, donate to the ias, buy another course on top of the one you already paid for, stay for an extra week, the list goes on. Then there is the compulsory SO recruiting show – make sure you go armed with a decent excuse or you will be press ganged into staying there FOREVER. I’d decided I would never go back long before I discoverd it was a death trap as well – the place is awash with tiny particles of blue asbestos and it should have been scuppered years ago.
“She’d a list to the port and and her sails in rags
And the cook in scuppers with the staggers and the jags
God Damn Them All…”
-the Great Stan Rogers
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — Pay them, and they will come. Miscavige’s only path to increasing participation in his religion is to pay parishioners cash money for their attendance. Reverse the flow, as it were.
On another note, I wanted to point out one particular ham-handed sales technique employed above that could have come from Les Dane or any of a 1000 sales gurus: “Please answer the following questions: 1) When do you plan to arrive at the Freewinds?, etc…” That’s presuming the close, as in, start conversing with the prospect as if they’re already agreed to buy, so as to try to short circuit that actual decision, which could go the other way. Most people will read that and simply answer — When do I plan to arrive? When LRH earns a PhD, or to put it another way: never in the entire future of this or any galaxy.
I would answer it: “What makes you think I’m planning anything?”
You could also say:
“The members of the RCS are running out of Money and Time. Where has all their Money and Time gone to ?
Ummmmm…LITTLE Davy’s Swiss back account? As for the time, I have no idea.
OSD, lil’daby can NOT HAVE A SWISS ACCOUNT! No US citizen can. It should be interesting, like him or not, Obama has made it impossible for US citizens to have money outside of the U.S.. We cannot enjoy “the secrecy” of international banking anymore in almost any country. He also will be subject to the same laws.
Maybe they are not so OT (cause over Matter, Energy, Space, Time and Live) as they should or pretend to be.
Roger, we will meet at the “Grand Opening” of Basel Org.
R.
I take you by your word,when will that be and who are you ?
You were my PES in Basel in the 80’s and we had a phone-call recently. Grand-Opening of Ideal Org Basel is expected in 2-4 months.
At least the ecclesiastical leader would have someone to blame for his empire collapsing: all these lower beings in the fringes of the internet, and people like Mike, or Marty, for whom ‘nobody cares’. This exonerates him of any failure as he has nothing to do with running the church so, if it collapses, it is someone else’s fault.
And ‘make no mistake’ he does not really care if the freewinds and orgs collapse completely.
Silvia, I think he’s counting on it so he can take his stash of cash and flee the country.
Interesting, OSD. That occurred to me as well. Like, he’s really just longing for it to be over, and he’s purposefully doing whatever he can to crash the actual Scientology stats while at the same time getting as much money as possible from straight donations for his getaway.
If they paid me a million to get in there. I wouldn’t hesitate one second, I would say: Never, no way!
+1,000,000
I would go there for one week for a million dollars. I’d need it all in advance though, and my two armed guards, well, they don’t eat much.
If they gave out a million dollars to go aboard they’d probably try to reg it right back once it was out to sea. Protip from the wog world: If you treat people badly, word spreads and they won’t come back no matter how low you set your prices.
Mike, just want to thank you for this blog. Since the format moved to daily posts it has become a regular “go to” source for information about the cult. The compatibility between the journalism of Tony Ortega’s site and the critical thinking and reflection of your blog creates an interesting synergy for me. Have a great trip to Sundance, hope there is plenty of time for fun mixed in with the important work.
Yes Mike, have a great trip. I take it you won’t be passing out TWTH booklets there.
Yea. The Way To Happiness is “Get Out!”
I like to say again, Mike, have fun at Sundance.
Three cheers to the Glory that you will bask in!!
I can’t imagine the Fleawinds still existing in 3 years. Everything delivered to their sea sick public could be done in one corner of one empty floor of the SP Building in Clearwater. Maybe Captain Dave is waiting for the price of scrap metal to come back up. Maybe he still wants the Fleawinds as a place to hide if all else fails.
Empty orgs, empty SP Building, empty ship…… What’s an evil little cult to do? I got it! PRESSURE the remaining public (by any means possible) to give more of their money for less and increase the use of disconnection in an effort to maintain control. Ya, ya, that should work!!!!!
Good luck in prison Dave.
Fat chance but one can dream.
Happy talk, keep talkin’ happy talk,
Talk about things you’d like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don’t have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true
” Maybe he still wants the Fleawinds as a place to hide if all else fails.”
In my opinion that is a certainty. Once he is on bored, then let it be decommissioned by nature …………as in a circular storm to match his circular bridge.
Yo Dave,
Count the days good buddy because they ARE NUMBERED ……. for your reading pleasure.
It’s the “theta, distraction free environment” that is rumoured to be not true.
Perhaps the next announcement will be:
Ship Decomissioning!
Come for one final cruise, before the Ship is decomissioned. OTVIII is stepping ashore due to unprecedented demand for the first real OT level!
And the band played on….
http://youtu.be/EMLaxZ39sgs
When do you plan to arrive to the Freewinds?
I have no plans in that regard.
Which service are you going to do?
You give service?
Do you have any questions in regards
to our services?
Can you guarantee no regging while on board?
Would you like to know the different accommodations packages available
to you?
Got any free stowaway rates? I can help cook in exchange.
How can I assist you in your arrival to the Freewinds?
Sail to San Pedro first.
ML,
MM
ML, ummmmmm, Much Laughter?
More lunacy.
Ya see, MM, that’s why YOU DA MAN!
“You give service?” Still laughing, MM.
Well, some Psych (or LRH) could have a field day analyzing me, because I read these ads and I go into a deep depression… and then shift to a screaming rage. Good thing I don’t have access to nukes.
Sounds like a case of good old SANITY to me. Stay the course McCarran!
🙂
Come to think of it, “prison ship” also fits her! LOL
Every time I think of the Freewinds, the old nautical term “rust bucket” comes to mind.
I wonder if the flea winds is going to have an “accident” at sea. About a month ago it went out of communication about its location for a short while. Bet it would be simpler to disappear it and collect insurance.
Don’t give shorty any ideas, Eileen.
Note that it’s not terribly unusual for ships to drop off the grid from the location services. It doesn’t necessarily mean that there was a major failure. It could happen for a whole bunch of different reasons, not just a catastrophic mechanical failure while under way…
Freewinds at end of lifespan?
Just read an interesting article on Cruise ship lifespans and basically Freewinds should be in Hospice right now. Built in 1968 (coming up on 50 years). According to this article cruise ships have about a 30 year efficient lifespan, can have up to 15 year extended operation at higher costs and then its technical lifespan is reached. Post 50 years becomes economically untenable for many reasons.
http://www.frommers.com/articles/4397.html
Now let’s not denigrate some good old fashioned rust thegman, I recommend it be referred to as a bucket of Daveshit.
Pretty soon it will be free of charge… And still people won’t come
Ronit, you’re right! Pretty soon it will be free of charge. However, you will be regged to within an inch of your life to hand over money for the IAS, Idle Morgues, TWTH, CCHR, WISE & countless other idiotic groups within the Cult.
This coming Saturday, my ex-scientology friends and I will be at the Beverly Hills Playhouse to watch “Disconnection.” While talking to the lady about purchasing my ticket, I asked her if she thought any scientologist had come to view the play. She replied, “Oh, definitely! They were here.” This should be a lot of fun!
So happy you’re going OSD, have fun! Hope you’ll bring back a report for those of us out here on the fringes. 🙂
Darn. Wish I could go with you OSD.
Mary and NOLA Girl, I wish you could go with me too! However, I will be posting about the play as well as any OSA types that come in. I believe the show is just about SOLD OUT!
If I suspect someone of being a cult member, I’ll casually go over to them and start telling them about OT3. If they look at me with a look of WTF are you talking about, I’ll know they’re ok.
Gosh, but I’m really looking forward to seeing this play!
OSD, Will you be identifiable by your flip-flops?
When I read that the Freewinds is “more accessible” I keep thinking of wheelchair ramps, which is probably the opposite of their intention.
The amount of dishonesty and lies with this organization never ceases to amaze. The prices are not dropping because all over sudden they feel sorry for all the poor members who can not afford to go on the Freewinds and want to make it “more accessible”. Since when did CoS start having compassion for poor people.
As Mike has correctly pointed out, the prices are dropping they are just trying to find money to survive. The demand for Freewinds services are so low that they are very desperate. The 47x expansion is just not happening. The 47x contraction is what is going on.
In reality if the church was actually expanding as they say, the demand for Freewinds services would be so high that the prices would be going up and up instead of going down. When they start to reduce prices, offer discount, and loans for services to make services “more accessible”, that is when you know that this whole sham is falling apart. The straight up and vertical, 47x expansion is nothing but fiction. Sooner or later they will not be able to afford to maintain all the empty buildings they are acquiring and will be forced to sell all of them just to survive.
Soon they will hire extras to sail the Freewinds.
And it is not such a bad thing. People that join staff, or the Sea Org or go public, become the adverse of effect of it almost always. Even Margaret Supak tells people on board the ship not to say anything about it if they see people from INT Management going out ethics or getting O/W’s in broad daylight while on the Freewinds. It is not the end of the tech in the world, it is the end of it being used corruptly.
I have always thought the United States government could do a better job of making OT’s than any Church of Scientology. And in a normal manner too like Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. And help the economy as well.
He may not be selling those buildings so soon, Davids. Remember, he’s got maybe 2 or 3 BILLION in a slush fund. That will pay a lot of electric bills if he wants to keep it going and going.
On the other hand, with a few well-placed chinks in the armor [not an ethnic slur — look it up], such as if the Garcias win, it’s still possible it could end fairly soon.
Wheelchair accessibility might be a good idea, given the aging population of OTs and their predictable physical decline despite their homo novus status.