A few year ago we got close to launching what we were calling a “Freight Class Cruise.” The idea was to ship our personal small boats in a container over to Ireland, fly over to meet up with the boats weeks later, then launch to camp-cruise among the locks, pubs, and cultural attractions on the River Shannon for ten days.
We mostly solved many of the logistical problems and had the kind support of some Irish locals and River Shannon officials, but the costs of such a grand adventure were ultimately prohibitive. In the end this idea it never quite got away the docks.
In retrospect, the approach I used on one of the Texas 200 events—buying a cheap local boat, tuning it up quickly, and employing it for the event—is probably a more realistic approach. Just bring yourself and some basic gear and the adventure begins.
A quick scan shows a few boats for sale in the region. For example, I could grab this little teak sailboat for £800 and set off….hmm…
Where is your yet-to-be-experienced dream small-boat cruise, and what has kept you from doing it? Let readers know below. —Josh
While, we are living the dream, crusing Georgian Bay, the North Channel and the many lakes Ontario Canada has, it is a summer time only activity! I dream of hooking up my boat to its trailer and escaping winter to cruse Florida's Gulf Coast shores from the Suwanee River to the keys! Maybe one day, but distance and cost keep us close to home! Oh we suffer so! Lol AllthebestRoy
I like the idea, but instead of going through the trouble of buying and selling a boat on a foreign place. My thought would be that it would be more interesting and build connections if we had a small boat exchange kind of like the home exchange platform. No money is exchanged just a credit towards a future borrowing somewhere in the network of participants. The added bonus, you may make a new friend and get good local knowledge shared.