Sunday, May 15, 2011

From England to France in a Ness Yawl

A nice day for crossing the Channel in a small boat. Giacomo and Bruno in Clodia.



My good friend, Max, comments at the end of this post that the video doesn't capture the level of commercial traffic on this body of water. This is exactly the contrast that Giacomo and Bruno have set out to demonstrate. The speed and power of modern maritime commerce actually creates a hazardous environment for smaller boats, besides being one of the major polluters of our water planet.

It will appear absurd to many to suggest that we could provide the world's needs using a less invasive technology. But Giacomo and Bruno have just shown that what most people think is not necessarily so. Yes, perhaps it is absurd to imagine the English Channel littered with thousands of tiny boats the size of Clodia, bringing goods to market. This example is all the more powerful because of that symbolism.

The technology propounded here could be expanded to accommodate a grander scale. At the same time, a new paradigm involving reduced needless consumption would mitigate the megalithic need for monster container ships and tankers.

Bruno and Giacomo will spend the next few months demonstrating how a web of physically interactive humanity can supplant the market driven economy with an economy based on respect, responsibility and caring. A world where we all win, rather than a race for winner takes all.



Perhaps then, the poisonous red petrochemical haze we see on the horizon in the video above will disappear forever.

8 comments:

Bursledon Blogger said...

It was a good day for a crossing,

the film didn't really show how busy that stretch of water is, normally you can see 5 or 6 large ships travelling in each direction as you cross first the west bound and then east bound traffic separation lanes!!

Great stuff from Giacomo and Bruno

doryman said...

And our friends were below the radar. Skillful mariners and lucky too!

manontheriver said...

Yes my friends, the traffic is impressive and the speed of these monsters too. We are coming from Venice where we are well used to it, but at a different speed, expecially with the big ships. We had a boat following us in case of danger and they helped very much us across the shipping lanes. It was not possible for us to cross them at 90°.
But we could make it. Thanks to the Viking Gods.

Claudia Myatt said...

Well done to Clodia and crew! It's a tricky crossing in a bigger boat, so I hope you are enjoying some well deserved French wine.

Michael said...

I found this video wonderful and interesting. I sailed as Master and made over 200 channel voyages in 7 years in the European short sea trade (300 foot coaster). The red haze you mention is very apparent. visibility in the channel during the summer was often poor, in the range of 3-5 miles due to that haze. early mornings with high humidity made for beautiful sunrises.

I own a work boat quality version of doryman's avatar, a tropic bird and this video gives me more inspiration to get it on the water!

doryman said...

Michael,
Love to hear more about your Tropic Bird. Maybe some pictures?
Please write me
mbogoger(at)gmail.com

O Docker said...

Little ships once saved the day in the channel.

Maybe there was a wider lesson there.

doryman said...

No matter the incalculable lessons taught, the lesson is in the learning.

Detain me; I wax philosophic.