Lash that man to the mast! We're off on our (Freight) holidays.

So economy cruising is back! The article in the Handy Shipping Guide today brought back fond memories of holidays long ago when a young man could simply sign on and sail away to exotic places, wind at his back, seaweed in his hair....... you get the picture.

Not that the Captain ever did that himself you understand. No way I was sleeping with the sweaty crew eating weevils and drinking rotgut rum. However back in the good/bad (delete as preferred) old days it was common for a man to strike out for adventure by signing on and taking what the world (and the filthy crew) threw at him.

This practice was matured and refined in latter days and meant that a man of slender means could roam the world as a paying passenger aboard the steamer of his choice headed for the destination he desired. No ladies, I am not being sexist, very few of the fairer sex made such expeditions. What with the superstition and the Victorian sexual tension it didn't make for a what we euphemistically term a "pleasure cruise" for you girls.

And now, once again, times are hard and the pips are squeaking in many a wallet.

Want to take a trip at sea? Don't mind that one will eat with the, occasionally motley, crew. No special gluten free, macrobiotic diets here, no Darren Blane's amazing feats or "Paper Lace Trio" to warble to you over dinner. No Shrimp and Artichoke Bisque with Crostini and Parmesan Croutons. Just the throb of the engines, the smell of the seamen, the sight of endless miles of ocean, visits to chemical offloading piers and container ports and not a harp in sight.

You can do it all simply by taking a freighter to and from all manner of points worldwide. It used to be possible to hitch a ride with any trucker from anywhere to almost anywhere else if you didn't mind Country Music and endless conversations about lorries and roundabouts and the best cafes. That more or less ended with stricter insurance rules and Rutger Hauer. But a sea trip! That's back on the agenda again (see the links in the HSG story).

There are however some points to consider. Like the recent blog on "Orbital Airports" you may find the destinations a little too off the wall and exotic. Just like Ryan Air and co's description of airports the Port to many destinations is often a ruddy long stretch from where you, the tourist, wanted to end up. And like the cheapie air people, schedules can change, you could spend four days moored against an oil discharge quay in the Straits of Hormuz when the brochure said you'd be sunning yourself in Sharm el-Sheikh. And when you do get there you find yourself with 24 hours to kill locked in the Egyptian naval base.

So if you fancy a vacation with a difference fill your boots. And feel free to comment below and let us know how you get on.

Comments

[Ships Mate]

You make these freighter trips sound so romantic, incredibly dodgy when surrounded by truckers etc.