Sail cargo vessel visits
SAIL cargo ships could be returning to Brixham following a successful visit by the Tres Hombres.
The 15-crew ship loaded three cubic metres of Avocet organic ales, which is bound for Brittany, and off-loaded Caribbean goods destined for the Devon market while residents and visitors had the chance to climb on board the vessel and take a look.
-
IN PORT: Tres Hombres in Brixham harbour Andy Styles
The ship's contractor, Trans Oceanic Wind Transport, a firm hoping to make wind-powered cargo shipping commercially viable again.
Guillaume Le Grand, the founder of TOWT, said with the price of fuel rising, there would come a point when wind transport would become cheaper than traditional shipping.
LANDLORDS Fixed price TENANT FIND only £275.00
Eden Lettings & Property Management Limited
View detailsFirst Let at only £275.00 NO VAT. Contact the office for more details and arrange your free valuation today.
Terms: £275.00 NO VAT on first let only.
Contact: 01803 221108
Valid until: Sunday, June 23 2013
He said: "I think it went well. Everyone in Brixham welcomed us. We have shown what we are capable of doing and what we want to do. We have taken a lot of contacts with people who are keen to export their goods by sail power.
"It is still early days and the dust has not yet settled. But this was not a one-off. We're hoping to make visits every three or four months."
Mr Le Grand said it would take about 24 hours to cross the Channel by sail ship but time was not of the essence when carrying non-perishable goods.
Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition Town movement, visited the Tres Hombres.
He said going back to sail power was progress and a positive way to look to the future.
He said: "I don't see it as going back to the old days. Given the way petrol prices are going up, we need to find appropriate technology for our time.
"The work the Tres Hombres is doing is very much pioneering."
Comments
by rakesh01
Saturday, October 22 2011, 2:50PM
“Well said wildswimmer.
Fully agree with all the excellent points made.
We visited the ship too and found the whole experience fantastic with a welcoming and knowledgeable crew.
Hope they'll return to our port soon.”
by wildswimmer
Thursday, October 20 2011, 3:44PM
“I felt very fortunate to visit the Tres Hombres and listen to the very knowledgeable Captain and his crew. Like it or not, oil supplies are dwindling and cheap oil is a thing of the past, sustainable transport and trade will be necessary to take us well into the new millennium, we need intelligent forward thinking politicians to do all they can to back sustainable transport options.”