Charlie Deist

Writer, Producer, Sailor

San Francisco

Charlie Deist is a Bay-Area based author, radio producer, and sailing instructor. After receiving his B.A. in economics from UC Berkeley in 2011, he joined the staff of The Seasteading Institute, where he researched the potential for algae farming to help enable the establishment of experimental floating communities. He is currently assembling the first robotic algae biofuel system on the West Coast, following a successful pilot project demonstrating the viability of a farm pond in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania. With the inventor, Rudy Behrens, Charlie, and his team are producing DIY plans that rely on low-cost materials to enable small-scale, decentralized production of both robots and their resulting fuel – a paraffin wax derived from a mélange of aquatic plants. He started sailing on San Francisco Bay in 2013 and obtained his captain's license earlier this year. His articles have been featured in Acres USA magazine, Erraticus, and on BBC.com, and his first full-length book, Hormetics: Physical Fitness for Free People, was published in May 2020. These days you can find Charlie working from J Dock at the Berkeley Marina – swimming, sailing, writing, or tinkering with the robot. He lives in Albany, California with his wife Emma and their daughter, Clare, and hopes to one day sail with them beyond the Golden Gate with a fleet of algae biofuel robots in tow.