Artist’s conception of the schooner Ceiba.
photo by danielle doggett, courtesy sailcargo inc.
sailcargo inc.
(continued from page 50) SailCargo, Inc. wants to give the Age of Sail another chance. The emerging shipping company plans to carry freight in carbon-neutral sailing ships, equipped with supplemental power provided by solar batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines, as well as an advanced variable pitch propeller, which will convert kinetic energy into stored electrical energy. Construction of the company’s first ship, the schooner Ceiba, will take place in what the company calls an “eco-plantation” in Punta Morales, Costa Rica, a location chosen in part due
In addition to the pursuit of carrying cargo under sail, Sail Cargo, Inc., is providing instruction in traditional wooden shipbuilding and small boat construction, rigging, blacksmithing, and sailmaking. to that country’s commitment to national carbon-neutrality by 2021. The keel was formed from mountain tamarind, felled by a hurricane in Upala; the company is planting trees to offset the project’s carbon footprint, as well as to ensure the availability of usable wood going forward. Construction of the schooner, which will have an overall length of 148 feet and 25-foot beam, is expected to take around three and a half years and involve the work of around 250 people. The company’s proposed traditional skills program will offer hands-on learning in wooden shipbuilding and small boat construction, rigging, blacksmithing, fine woodworking, and sailmaking. With a maximum cargo capacity of 350 cubic meters and a chilled hold available, Ceiba will call Costa Rica home, but carry a variety of cargoes around the world. (www. sailcargo.org) … In the mid-19th century Americans had the opportunity to take a virtual journey around the world via the Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ’Round the World, a 1,275-footlong by 8-foot-high painting that was scrolled on giant spools, with accompanying theatrics and narration. The painting was made in 1848 on cotton sheeting by Benjamin Russell and Caleb Purrington during the heyday of American Whaling. 52
SEA HISTORY 164, AUTUMN 2018