grain du sail

Shipping Cargo by Sail

Just like the old days… goods being moved by sailboat. Grain de Sail is a modern cargo vessel powered by wind that is able to cross oceans.

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It took the custom built ‘Grain de Sail’ 28 days to deliver her cargo from Saint-Malo, France to the Port of New York. The 80-foot two-masted boat was designed to cross the North Atlantic under sail in an initiative to minimize the environmental impact of shipping the company’s goods: wine, coffee and cocoa.

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Stashed below deck in a climate controlled hold are 18,000 bottles of wine.
This photo shows a crew member unbolting the hatch cover to the cargo hold.

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The hatch was carefully hoisted off the boat using the halyard, allowing access to the hold.

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Deck officer Goulwen Josse directs the discharge operation.

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The first case of ‘2018 Nuits-Saint-Georges’ wine is brought ashore and stacked on a palette by longshoremen.

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The company expects to make two trans-Atlantic deliveries per year.

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The ‘Grain du Sail’ boat will be docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for about a week before starting her return trip. You can visit the boat and by reserving a time slot (free).