Author Topic: The Full-Scale Present-Day Noah's Ark (Read 1639 times)

islander · « **on:** September 28, 2016, 05:31:36 PM »

A Millionaire Spent Years Building a Full-Scale Ark. The Inside Is Whatâ€™s Truly Mindblowing

When religion and piles of money collide, things can get pretty crazy. But fear not, this isnâ€™t going to be a heavy op-ed about Saudi Arabia or Ted Cruz. This is the story of how one man used his wealth to realize a massively ambitious spiritual goal, with amazing results.

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islander · « **Reply #1 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:32:10 PM »

Somewhere along the Merwede river in the Netherlands lies a hulking colossus. A man-made giant of literally Biblical proportions. But who built it â€“ and why?

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islander · « **Reply #2 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:32:36 PM »

The story begins in 1992. Johan Huibers, a millionaire and a hardcore creationist, had an apocalyptic dream that the low-lying Dutch coastlands would be inundated by seawater. The flood dream never left him, and he felt compelled to begin what he saw as his lifeâ€™s work.

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islander · « **Reply #3 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:33:02 PM »

Inspired by the Bible, and specifically Godâ€™s instructions to Noah in chapters six to nine of Genesis, Huibers set about building a real ark in 2005. It was about 230 feet long, and he used it to sail the seas around the Netherlands for three and a half years.

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islander · « **Reply #4 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:33:24 PM »

But Huibersâ€™ creationist itch, it seems, hadnâ€™t been properly scratched. In 2009, he set about realizing his true ambition: he wanted to construct an ark the same size as the one written about in the Bible. Exactly the same size.

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islander · « **Reply #5 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:35:06 PM »

The project took three years to complete, costing around $1.6 million. Money wasnâ€™t too much of an object for Huibers, it seems.

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islander · « **Reply #6 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:36:10 PM »

And when the project was finally completed, the structure was gigantic; Huibers followed the Biblical blueprint to the detail. Indeed, he converted cubits into modern measurements, and the new ark came in at a whopping 430 feet long, 100 feet wide and 75 feet high.

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islander · « **Reply #7 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:37:12 PM »

Naturally, the mammoth task of creating a flood-proof, live-in ark called for a lot of materials. The finished product, then, weighs in at 2,500 tons, with the ark boasting five decks.

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islander · « **Reply #8 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:38:18 PM »

And Huibers wasnâ€™t afraid to put some hard graft in himself. After all, this dedicated Christian â€“ who perhaps follows in the steps of his idol a little too closely â€“ is actually a carpenter.

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islander · « **Reply #9 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:39:25 PM »

When he finished the ark in 2012, though, Huibers was keen to share his awesome creation with the world. Well, it was built to hold 5,000 people, so there was plenty of space on board.

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islander · « **Reply #10 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:40:47 PM »

Alas, some Biblical instructions had been impossible to follow. While in Genesis, Noah uses â€œgopher woodâ€ to build his ship, Huibers combined the metal hulls of a few old barges to create his ark, before cladding it with Scandinavian pine wood.

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islander · « **Reply #11 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:45:57 PM »

But how did Huibers plan to truly amaze visitors to the ark? And how did he think it best to educate people about the message of the Bible?

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islander · « **Reply #12 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:47:12 PM »

Every school kid knows that in the Bible, God tells Noah to build an ark large enough to house two of every animal on earth. Well, Huibers followed that part of the plan too. Kind of.

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islander · « **Reply #13 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:48:30 PM »

He filled the structure to the rafters with life-size plastic sculptures of the animals that Noah is supposed to have saved. You canâ€™t deny that this guy is a real stickler for detail.

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islander · « **Reply #14 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:49:37 PM »

The plastic animals, as you might imagine, were seriously costly. Indeed, just one of the life-size elephants that Huibers installed on the ark cost him $11,000. Ouch.

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islander · « **Reply #15 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:50:50 PM »

Huibers didnâ€™t just put plastic animals on the ark, though. It also houses a number of real animals, although nothing as big as an elephant. Most of the live creatures are birds, such as parrots, peacocks and pheasants, but there are also some rabbits on the vessel.

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islander · « **Reply #16 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:52:11 PM »

In case passengers get bored of petting the bunnies during the apocalyptic deluge, however, Huibers has made room for some other diversions too. For example, the ark also houses a restaurant and two cinemas, along with plenty of information relating to the flood story.

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islander · « **Reply #17 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:53:16 PM »

The awesome vessel is currently moored at the town of Dordrecht in the Netherlands, but perhaps not for much longer. Never afraid of thinking big, Huibers is planning something even more ambitious for his ark.

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islander · « **Reply #18 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:54:34 PM »

In summer 2016 he wants to sail the ark some 5,000 miles over the Atlantic to Brazil, where he hopes to arrive in good time for the Olympic and Paralympic games. Once there, he aims to provide spiritual and â€œpractical support for the underprivilegedâ€ people in the country.

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islander · « **Reply #19 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:55:45 PM »

On the way, Huibers plans to stop off in the United States, dropping anchor at San Francisco and Seattle, among other places. Itâ€™s a huge undertaking, and heâ€™s still well shy of the funding he needs to make the project happen.

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islander · « **Reply #20 on:** September 28, 2016, 05:56:39 PM »

But given his amount of self-belief, itâ€™s doubtful that this worries Huibers. In fact, heâ€™s even said that heâ€™d like to get Israel and the Arab states to work together to construct a water pipe between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. Letâ€™s just hope he manages it before the flood hits.

http://nextinvesting.com/

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islander · « **Reply #21 on:** September 28, 2016, 06:03:58 PM »

In 2007 Huibers opened the doors to visitors. After a few months the vessel was towed by tugboat through the canals and moored in 21 harbors in the Netherlands. The ark was sold to Dutch artist Aad Peters in 2010. He tours through Germany, Denmark and Norway. Although the ark isn't really seaworthy and can't handle waves higher than two meters, he was successfully towed across the sea from Denmark to Norway. On 10 June 2016, the ark collided with a moored vessel (NoCGV Nornen) while under tow in Oslo harbor. The ark suffered severe damage to its wooden cladding. (wikipedia)

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islander · « **Reply #22 on:** September 28, 2016, 06:10:18 PM »

more about johan's ark:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3574830/Life-sized-replica-Noah-s-Ark-complete-wooden-animals-heading-Brazil-Olympic-games-needs-donation-Biblical-proportions-fund-voyage.html

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islander · « **Reply #23 on:** September 28, 2016, 06:15:45 PM »

it did not sail to brazil, after all.

as of 04 july 2016, from the Ark of Noah Foundation facebook account:

Important UPDATE!
There has been a change to the Ark of Noah travel itinerary. 🌍âš“ï¸🚧
Due to the current state of affairs and the challenges facing Brazil (i.e. the Olympics), political, economical, and personal safety as well as the Zika virus uncertainty, key supporters of the Ark have expressed grave concern about sailing to Rio at this moment in time. The board of directors in consultation with Johan Huibers have decided that it is in the best interest of the Ark of Noah project and its entire team to postpone its voyage to Brazil.
We are currently in the process of planning the next destination of the Ark. To see the full press release as well as to stay updated with upcoming news, visit our website www.arkofnoah.org or access the LINK IN BIO. #supporttheark

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hubag bohol · « **Reply #24 on:** October 03, 2016, 09:38:32 AM »

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