> They found some crew members [for a rationalist boat], including one, Dan Powell, who had nautical experience from a stint in the US navy. On 20 July, they set out from Alaska. It went mostly without incident, though one crew member who found Ziz’s assertiveness off-putting debarked early.<p>What is it with cults and boats? L Ron Hubbard did this, too (albeit for different stated reasons).<p>> The Coast Guard declared the ship a “threat to the public health” and demanded an improvement plan.<p>Ah, see, they should have adopted the Hubbard approach of just completely ignoring authorities' complaints about his various dubious boats (this, somehow, tended to more or less work out for him).