Rum and chocolate ship heads for Falmouth under sail

The first of what may become a new breed of commercial sailing ships will blow into a Cornish port next month laden with rum and chocolate. Like the Packet post ships of old, Tres Hombres is due to tie up at Falmouth on April 15 as part of a mission to promote a greener form of transporting goods by sea. Tres Hombres is the world’s only transatlantic, engine-less cargo vessel and is currently making her fifth journey from Europe to the Caribbean and back. Owned and operated by Fair Transport Shipping, the schooner-brig is leading the way towards reviving an industry in shipping goods under sail. Crewman Biz Bliss said: “There is an enormous sense of achievement that we are doing something unique and special by sailing without an engine and proving that it is still possible. It feels amazing to sail into harbour, all hands on deck, as we drop the sails fast and drop the anchor. When arriving and leaving ports under sail, with everyone working smoothly as a team in a heightened and stressful situation, the incredible skill of the captain and mates becomes apparent. These moments are always followed by a celebratory shot of Tres Hombres rum.” Setting sail from Holland in October, the emission-free ship called at ports in Norway, France, Portugal and the Canaries on her way to Brazil and the Caribbean – returning via Bermuda, the Azores and Falmouth before heading to her home port in The Netherlands. Carrying rum, cocoa, coffee, molasses, wine and chocolate bars, the voyage will feature in a BBC documentary. Working with New Dawn Traders, a Bristol-based initiative aiming to revive the UK’s sail cargo industry, Fair Transport Shipping is researching new trade opportunities in a number of countries. On the current voyage Tres Hombres picked up Norwegian stockfisk, Portuguese olive oil and Amazonian nut oils and butters. A barrel of rum will be unloaded in Falmouth for bottling. In its continuing campaign to encourage exporters to consider shipping their goods by sail, New Dawn Traders have organised a programme of events on shore in Falmouth, including a civic reception with the town mayor, chocolate workshops at the Eden Project and a film screening at The Poly. Tres Hombres and New Dawn Traders’ shared mission is to gradually create an emission-free fleet of sailing cargo vessels as part of the global challenge of removing fossil fuels from international supply chains. Summing up the ethos of the venture, joint owner Arjen van der Veen said: “How sustainable is a product if it is not also transported in a sustainable emission-free way?” Depending on sea conditions, the ship will be berthed at Falmouth from April 15 to 21.