The quick voyage from La Rochelle to Copenhagen aboard the Tres Hombres ends with plenty of time in port. This allows for a visit to the Hawila in the port of Holbaek, a cargo sailing project inspired by the Tres Hombres, though one that aims to do many things a little differently.
Covered with a yellow tarp, the hull lies at the pier: ‘Welcome on Board of the Hawila’. A roughly nailed-together gangway leads inside. The frames of the future deck are lined with panels so that visitors can move about safely. A glance into the future cargo hold reveals that work is not only underway here, but information is also being provided. Information boards explain the ship’s history. Built in 1934 to trade in ice from Norway, it was abandoned several times, only to be discovered each time and rescued at great expense.
The current refit is the most extensive yet. The underwater hull has already been replanked, and most of the frames and the keel block have been replaced. All of this is being done by volunteers. Anyone involved in the work here has to return to a paying job from time to time to support themselves. “If we had the funds, we could be finished in a year,” explains Samuel. Caroline adds: “We could probably get money quickly from large shipping companies, which would then use the Hawila for their image and greenwashing. But we don’t want to sell our soul.”
So this small group of idealists is selling shares or future sailing days and seeking out other small sources of income to scrape together the money needed for their goals.
An expanded business model
Loud music blares from the pier. The harbour festival in Holbaek is part and parcel of the dominant consumer culture. “We need to move away from that,” emphasises Samuel. “We want to give the people who come on board in future the experience that happiness does not lie in over-consumption, but that, with the limited resources on board, you can develop positive feelings and good relationships.”
The Hawila project is inspired by the Tres Hombres. He emphasises this several times. Yet Hawila will not be a copy. “We’ve moved away from the idea of taking out the engine, which is still in good working order,” explains Samuel. However, they will only install two small tanks, so that there is only a small amount of fuel on board, barely enough for manoeuvring in port. One of the tanks will contain biodiesel. The other will contain fossil diesel. “From a climate perspective, that’s an incomprehensible regulation.” They will always use the biofuel first.
Professionally, Samuel works as a developer of ship systems. For Hawila, he has taken on the organisation, administration and fundraising behind the scenes. “I’m a fan of low-tech. We absolutely must preserve traditional knowledge, but in combination with new technology.” For example, a propeller will drive a generator whilst the boat is under sail. “There are plenty of second-hand Tesla motors. We could use one later to complement the diesel engine.” The available electricity should also power the drinking water treatment system and the fridge. It might even be enough for a hot shower – quite unlike on the Tres Hombres, where the bucket shower with cold seawater on the foredeck simply doesn’t happen in cold weather. “We don’t want zero comfort like our role model. That’s too harsh for many people. We want to be closer to the middle of society – a bit less of a niche.”
Transatlantic voyages are not planned. “We could take over the cargo from the Tres Hombres and the Avontuur on the west coast of Europe for distribution in Northern Europe. That would allow for more Atlantic crossings per season.” And the nerve-wracking passage through the heavy traffic in the English Channel would be avoided for the transatlantic vessels. However, Hawila does not want to rely solely on sail-powered transport. Fold-away berths in the cargo hold are designed to facilitate voyages and lessons with schoolchildren or even charter guests. Indeed, whilst the Tres Hombres, for example, transports wine from western France or Spain to Denmark, the cargo hold remains empty on the return journey. This, however, is a common problem in shipping: between 30 and 40 per cent of containers are shipped around empty.
Children can practise caulking
Guests keep coming aboard via the gangway. Among them are supporters and friends of the project. In the future cargo hold, the crew have screwed a few planks together. Children and adults alike can use a caulking iron and hammer to drive tow into the joints, getting a taste of the craft of traditional wooden shipbuilding.
In the future hold, visitors can learn how to use caulking irons and caulking hammers.
Two work rafts are moored alongside the ship, from which the hull above the waterline is being planked with oak. The timber comes from a plantation that the king had commissioned in the early 19th century, after Denmark had lost its entire fleet to the British Armada. The logs are long and straight, which is often not the case with naturally grown oak trees. Now that the trees have reached maturity, wooden ships are no longer being built, and the valuable, rare timber is sawn into container-length sections and sent to China for furniture-making. “What a shame,” comments Samuel. Yet Hawila is at least able to put 15 oak trees to their original use.
As a layperson, you stand in the empty hull, where gaps still gape above the waterline. There is no sign of the interior fit-out yet. Finished in two years? “What comes next will be much easier than what we’ve managed so far. The interior fit-out is standard carpentry work.” Nevertheless: for years, people have been talking about finishing in two years. Time and again, the finances get stuck. “But giving up is out of the question. We’ve already invested too much effort, energy and money in this...”
… and they haven’t sold the soul.