Chocolate Cargo, Boat Show Report

Tasty Transport

Brothers Olivier and Jacques Barreau are part of the growing movement to bring back wind powered shipping. Their company, Grain de Sail, transports coffee, chocolate, and wine within Europe as well as North and Central America using their sailing cargo ship. Their current focus is luxury, high margin goods, since the slower shipping time currently can’t support low margin perishables like produce.

However, they’re not as slow as potential clients might think. While cargo ships might get stuck in a port que for days or weeks, as a sailboat, they have right of way. They get to cut the line and sail straight into port. You can learn more about Grain de Sail from their official page, check out the goods they carry, and even track their ship here.

Heads Up: 2023 Show Report

The Heads were turning heads at this years rainy, windy Annapolis Boat Show. Here’s our notes from the show, focusing on the new design features in the cruiser category. This is what you’ll see in charter fleets in the coming year.

Fountaine Pajot: Front cabin heads have moved to the forepeak on the larger models, making them noticeably roomier. On the mid range models, there is now the option for each dual cabin hull to share one wet head. The shared wet heads have the size and feel of the owners version heads which take up half the hull. We dig it.

Bali: The same forepeak head design was also seen in the Catana group. As per usual, the Bali’s keep getting bigger. The hardtop bimini is back to being flat and cushioned, no more recessed seating. So we weren’t the only ones that never used those, huh. Even spotted was a side table lamp in the main salon on the Bali 5.4, for those that need a little dash of super-yacht in their decor.

Beneteau: Leaning into the racing design with sleek, flat decks, and minimalist helm. Interior galley on the mid range models has moved to the starboard side, leaving more salon room. The First 50 looked awesome.

Neel: On display were a couple of the Neel Trimarans that are rolling out into the Med fleets. They are bare bones, without any of the usual cruiser amenities. Prediction: this will become a sub-niche in the charter industry for people who want a taste of high speed sailing, especially after Sailing La Vagabond gets underway in their trimaran.

HH 55: A helm to make a grown sailor cry, with a giant red Sheet Dump button. And the HH heads? All carbon fiber. There has never been a button we wanted to push more..

Race Updates

SailGP: The U.S. team clinched a win in Cadíz, Spain this weekend, after a lackluster year with no wins. The Americans excelled in the light wind conditions using a 4 man team, having the fastest time on the board.

Ocean Globe Race: With just 450nm to Cape Town, the Finnish Spirit of Helinksi has overtaken the French Pen Duick VI’s lead in a dramatic dash to the finish line. The 4 lead boats are all within 100nm of each other, and the race is too close to call. Expected arrival is this Sunday.

Sailing Snippets

Black Bear-d: A Black Bear was spotted swimming across a canal in Naples Florida, and then boarding a Lagoon Catamaran. The bear then took a nap for about an hour (a perfectly acceptable activity), and yes, there’s video. Here ya’ go.

Inflatable Cat: No slip, no launch, no problem. The 420 mini cat is an inflatable catamaran that can seat up to 4 adults. One was sitting on the docks at the boat show, looking mighty tempting. Check out their official site here.

Sail & Sip: After sailing around the world on their 38’ sailboat, Ty and Helen Gillespie opened a vineyard in Colorado and named it after their old boat, Azura. On the property they build an acre pond for racing miniature r/c sailboats, and hold races every Wednesday and Sunday. Read their story here.

Shipwreck Discovery: A road crew working in Florida discovered an 1800’s shipwreck, almost perfectly preserved in the silt. The boat is a single masted, shallow draft vessel that was most likely used for shellfish and fish harvesting. Check out the photos and report here.