The port of Horta has been over centuries the preferred port of call for cargo ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Historically sailing ships used the well protected port to resupply but also to load goods such as wine from Pico. Towards the end of the 19th century it was not only water and food which were bulked, but the coal steamers could replenish their bunks with coal. Today it is mainly the cargo vessels from mainland Portugal and the neighboring islands that call in Horta to supply Faial with goods. There are though some rare exceptions when the feeling of past days return to Faial. This week, the Aventuur, a sustainable cargo ship, called in Horta.
Sustainable shipping
The Aventuur is a more than 100 year old two masted schooner that transports in a sustainable way goods between Europe and the Americas. On the current trip the sailor transports coffee, cocoa and rum from Central America to Europe. Sustainable shipping means, that goods are transported avoiding emissions by the use of sailing ships. Even though the demand for this kind of transport is increasing, there are only a few ships in the world doing such kind of trips. No wonder, crossing the Atlantic in winter is not an easy task, the route depends on the wind and storms are more than frequent. It took Aventuur more than 20 days to reach Horta from the port of Santa Maria in Colombia, nothing for fainthearted sailors. Aventuur is operated by Timbercoast with skipper and owner Cornelius Bockermann. Cornelius, who spent more than 20 years in the marine industry, realized that it is important to start making a change and become more sustainable in the way the marine industry works.
Sustainable supplies for a sustainable cargo ship
Luckily, a sustainable cargo ship can get nowadays in Faial sustainable supplies for its trip. Among the fresh products for the remainder of the trip to Bordeaux, the Aventuur could stock for its crew organically grown bananas from The Plantation Faial. But there were oranges, tangerines and other fresh products from other farmers as well. Similar to sustainable shipping, growing food in an sustainable and organic way is becoming more and more popular. Faial has an increasing number of producers of organic food, who knows, probably one day Faial and the Azores will become a really green spot in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
