On alternatives to flying

08 Mar 2006

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Dear Umbra,

I just read about Brits swearing off flying and feel such a sense of elation that I'm not the only one! Difference is, I'm in the U.S. I can't take the train to Thailand. Any ideas on transoceanic travel? What will it take to get from Boston to Europe by boat?

Anna Churchill
Watertown, Mass.

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Dearest Anna,

Not much -- just planning ahead, a hardy stomach or a good supply of Dramamine, and a few weeks of adventure on the high seas. My choice for you today is freighter travel, also an interesting option for those of you who seek alternatives to cruise ship vacations.

Try a slow boat to Antwerp.

Photo: iStockphoto.

I have a friend who swore off flying years ago, then traveled as a passenger on shipping freighters for several transatlantic voyages. Back then, it sounded a bit like hitchhiking, but after her last voyage (full disclosure: terrible seas, seasick for three weeks, appears to have thrown over her anti-flying vows), she told me it was becoming a more formalized system. From what I have found, she was right, and I think it's all to your benefit.

Freighter travel is just that: shipping as a passenger on a large container vessel. The boats can take up to 12 passengers without qualifying as a passenger ship (which would require them to have a doctor on board). The passengers sleep in comfortable cabins, eat with the crew, and spend their days gazing out to sea, reading, quilting, using the onboard exercise equipment, and going ashore at ports of call. Costs seem to be about $70-$130 a day, including food. You book through a special agent, and ships go around the world.

Do I need to point out the two obvious differences between the ocean liner and the airliner? One will be the price -- $1,200 or more to get to a European port, not to mention getting back. The other will be the time. First you'll have to get to an East Coast port of call like Montreal or New York (Boston doesn't seem to cater to passenger freighters). Then you'll cross the ocean and end up in Antwerp or something. This system will not work for Londoners wanting a weekend Manhattan shopping jaunt, families, people who can't use stairs, or the agoraphobic. It might work for retirees, or the novelist looking for a completely secluded retreat coupled with a week in Paris.

Look into it, at least for fun. The internet will respond to "freighter travel," or you can start with these sites. Smooth sailing!

Containedly,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (2 comments)

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crossing the atlantic

There is no way to cross the ocean without burning up a lot of fuel, unless you swim or row. That's just the way it is.

by dbeerslayer at 7:40 PM on 08 Mar 2006

Travel Is Broadening -- and Polluting

All forms of travel (except in your head!) use some energy. But there's no question that flying is by far the worst, in terms of petroleum used up, pollution and human health, impact on the upper atmosphere, energy used per person-mile, etc.

For all these reasons, I've not flown in over 18 months. In fact, I've only flown for a pleasure trip once in the last five years.

Not that I'm bucking for sainthood here. My other reason for not flying is the dehumanizing surrender of civil liberties one encounters in any U.S. airport. The minute you enter an airport (and increasingly a bus terminal or train station), you have left what's left of the United States and entered a full-fledged police state. I guess you can say I'm also protesting our government as well as making a stand for the environment.

My dear brother-in-law works for an airline, and I know that my reluctance to fly will impact his life if his airline goes under -- much as the travel agents in the Guardian article worry about their jobs if there is a mass backlash against flying. But people are irrepressible, and if we can't fly, there will be more trains and boats (I hope!), and more jobs in those industries.

Finally, remember that it's not just the casual vacation flyer who needs to be targeted. Most flying is for business. As we work toward more local, sustainable economies, there should be less reason for all this far-flung business travel. All of our efforts are connected.

by rickeym at 8:51 AM on 14 Mar 2006

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Better Freight Than Never

On alternatives to flying