Sailing

The first visual depictions of sailing boats have been dated as far back as 5500 BCE, discovered on painted discs from Mesopotamia. Clay models and iconography depict reed boats—some with bipod masts and sails. Also, bitumen-stained reed impressions suggest sealed hulls suitable for seafaring.

Mesopotamian sailing boat

Egyptian artefacts show sailing vessels as early as 3100 BCE, with more advanced constructions like the wooden Khufu ship (buried 2500 BCE) representing complex hull building and explicit sail usage.

These peoples created simple vessels using natural materials available to them. For instance, Egyptians built boats from papyrus, a material abundant along the Nile, while Persians used palm leaves to make sails. These basic boats, with hulls suited to the calm waters of rivers.

Jennifer Cole is a freelance writer based in Vancouver, Canada. She writes:

‘For centuries sailing ships navigated the planet’s waterways, trading and delivering needed goods. Powered by wind, this mode of transportation endured until the advent of fossil fuels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries transformed global shipping. Today, propelled by oil and gas, huge cargo ships criss-cross oceans, transporting billions of products every day.

It was against this backdrop that Eileen Banyra, owner and founder of Hudson Soil Company in Kerhonkson, New York, delivers her organic compost using the Apollonia, a 64-foot-long schooner, to communities along or close to the Hudson River. The Apollonia is not alone. Around the world, sailing ships and wind-assisted ships are being reimagined as a carbon-neutral alternative to conventional fossil fuel-reliant cargo ships.

Starting this year the Apollonia will upon arrival in New York harbour transfer its cargo to the 170-foot Grain de Sail II for transport across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. Founded in 2010 in Morlaix, France, by brothers Olivier and Jacques Barreau, Grain de Sail’s vision was to craft exceptional chocolates and coffees while minimizing environmental impact. At the heart of this vision was an ambitious goal: to build and operate the world’s first modern cargo sailboat.

Grain de Sail

The company currently has two ships: Grain de Sail I, with a payload capacity of 50 tons, travels at eight knots and is able to carry 26 pallets of approximately four feet by three feet. The larger Grain de Sail II is faster, at between 12 and 13 knots, and can carry over 200 pallets. “The unique selling point of Grain de Sail is its commitment to reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable transportation,” says Stefan Gallard, marketing director for the company. “Our objective is to avoid using the engine completely, but for safety reasons and port manoeuvring we do have an engine.” By using the power of wind, the vessels reduce CO₂ emissions by 90 percent compared to conventional maritime freight. In 2027, the Grain de Sail III will join the fleet.

But as impressive as the capacity of the ship may sound, when compared to the 15,000 or more containers a conventional cargo ship can carry, it’s a drop in the bucket. This is where the International Windship Association (IWSA) comes in. Founded in 2014, the IWSA is a not-for-profit membership association that facilitates, advocates and promotes wind propulsion for all commercial shipping by bringing together required parties to shape industry and policies in the development of a lucrative wind-ship industry.

For Gavin Allwright, secretary-general of the IWSA, both retrofitting and building new wind-assisted ships are well worth the expense. “You’re looking at a return of investment on installing wind technology anywhere between three-and-a-half to five years,” he says. “If you were to put a new fuel system in, you would be looking at a very much longer period and possibly never getting your money back.”

future ship

But as Gallard found, some people remain sceptical, and it hasn’t always been easy for Allwright to change hearts and minds about the infinite possibilities of wind power. He recalls walking into industry meetings in 2014 where people would avoid talking to him about the crazy idea of using wind in commercial shipping. They’d ask him what’s in it for them and question why they should even bother. But those attitudes began to shift in 2018, when the IMO pledged to decarbonize shipping by 2050. “Now, I’m able to walk into the room and the question is: ‘When are you going to do it? Your competitors are now moving,’” Allwright says.

And what do the mariners who crew these vessels think? Gallard says the crews of Grain de Sail’s ships often receive messages of encouragement from the captains of conventional cargo vessels. “It’s great to encounter that type of support and showcase that there is hope and a real desire from within the industry to find better alternatives,” he says.’

There are quite a few poems about sailing and it was difficult to choose just the one, but I do like this:

Sail Away

Early in the day it was whispered that we should sail in a boat,
only thou and I, and never a soul in the world would know of this our
pilgrimage to no country and to no end.

In that shoreless ocean,
at thy silently listening smile my songs would swell in melodies,
free as waves, free from all bondage of words.

Is the time not come yet?
Are there works still to do?
Lo, the evening has come down upon the shore
and in the fading light the seabirds come flying to their nests.

Who knows when the chains will be off,
and the boat, like the last glimmer of sunset,
vanish into the night?

                          Rabindranath Tagore, 1910

Thanks for reading, Terry Q.