It was summer 2020, in the little harbour of Rye, near Dover, England, that we met Jim with his catamaran and Andrew Simons. Andrew just started the initiative of Saillink as a try out. Saillink would become the sustainable ferry crossing the Channel. We wrote a blog about it: Ya meets soulmates from Saillink.
Andrew and Jim were checking out if a regular ferry service would work out there. It should be sustainable, with (nearly) no emissions. So sailing. Then, they were sailing in the Channel area and tried out all options under varying circumstances.
Would their initiative work?
Yes, the sailing ferry works out very well. The catamaran, called Echoes, is sailing from Boulogne to Dover and back. The experience of being at sea, breathing the fresh salty air and sniffing the sailing adventure, the sails moving you and the ship, all this generates the traveling experience again.
In this film you’ll get a hunch of it.
Forbes Magazine: The New Eco Friendly Startup Sailing between France and the UK
It is a startup, and the operation is starting effectively now, in 2025. So yes, Saillink is in the race. But competing against the fossil mastodons is not easy. So Saillink started a crowdfunding. Click and be part of it, and help this startup with your bit.