Going green on the blue waters of Puget Sound
SEATTLE -- Walk through Pike Place Market and your mouth starts to salivate. You can't resist a handful of Washington grown raspberries or snatching up sweet corn for dinner. Ah, the exploding colors, the smell of fresh fruit and the sense of farmer's pride.
It's top shelf produce that's locally grown. Shoppers like that, but have you ever thought about what it takes to get here? How many miles those bushels of peaches travel to get to the market and then to your plate?
Dave Reid has. And he's doing something radical to reduce those food miles.
"What we're doing here is completely independent of fuel prices," he said.
A national study found the average carrot travels 1,838 miles to get to your plate.
That's unacceptable to Reid, and he's convinced transporting goods like organic produce can be done without petroleum, and without any carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, he quit his job to prove it.
"It just seems like it's my job to make it happen," Reid said.
To make it happen, he's gone back in time to the olden days: Delivery by sail!
"We're using free wind and tide," Reid said.
Every two weeks, Reid takes one of three engineless sailboats from Sequim to Seattle to deliver organic produce. He has been since last November, when Reid launched the Sail Transport Company.
It's a full time job/experiment.
"Produce is the hardest thing to move," he says. "If we can move produce we can move anything."
Reid is just ekeing out a living to prove his concept. Each sail can take anywhere from 11 to 24 hours depending on the wind.
And if the wind dies, they paddle their way.
"It's kind of a strange motion, nothing like a normal ore on a row boat, it makes kind of like fishtail motion," said Bob Hall, who owns "Jackie", one of the boats Reid uses.
A sailboat for an office has its perks and adventure -- either you're hanging with seals or fighting the sails.
"I just think it's a hell of a lot of fun," Hall said.
Dave has partnered with Sustainable Ballard. The produce from Sequim comes from Nash's Organic Farms, which uses an electric truck to deliver their produce to the marina. After the sail, he docks at Shilshole Marina, then loads an electric trike to deliver the produce to a drop off site. It makes for a festive Saturday in Ballard.
Customers say they get good food and a good feeling.
"I'm a sailor myself so I really appreciate them putting everything on a boat," said Ben Messina.
Reid says if they can move food from Sequim to Seattle regularly without any petroleum, "I think we've just done something a lot of people think can't be done."
At the end of the year, they'll crunch all the data from hours sailed to the amount of produce moved. Already the findings are encouraging, but Reid admits there are some commercial disadvantages.
"Are we ever gonna compete with container ships? No way," he says. "A 1,000 mile-per-gallon-per-ton -- that's really efficient -- probably the most efficient way we have of moving stuff around anywhere," he says.
But Reid is more interested in the routes container ships don't serve. He's already asking if he can move produce, what's next?
Reid's company also does produce runs from Poulsbo to Seattle.
It's top shelf produce that's locally grown. Shoppers like that, but have you ever thought about what it takes to get here? How many miles those bushels of peaches travel to get to the market and then to your plate?
Dave Reid has. And he's doing something radical to reduce those food miles.
"What we're doing here is completely independent of fuel prices," he said.
A national study found the average carrot travels 1,838 miles to get to your plate.
That's unacceptable to Reid, and he's convinced transporting goods like organic produce can be done without petroleum, and without any carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, he quit his job to prove it.
"It just seems like it's my job to make it happen," Reid said.
To make it happen, he's gone back in time to the olden days: Delivery by sail!
"We're using free wind and tide," Reid said.
Every two weeks, Reid takes one of three engineless sailboats from Sequim to Seattle to deliver organic produce. He has been since last November, when Reid launched the Sail Transport Company.
It's a full time job/experiment.
"Produce is the hardest thing to move," he says. "If we can move produce we can move anything."
Reid is just ekeing out a living to prove his concept. Each sail can take anywhere from 11 to 24 hours depending on the wind.
And if the wind dies, they paddle their way.
"It's kind of a strange motion, nothing like a normal ore on a row boat, it makes kind of like fishtail motion," said Bob Hall, who owns "Jackie", one of the boats Reid uses.
A sailboat for an office has its perks and adventure -- either you're hanging with seals or fighting the sails.
"I just think it's a hell of a lot of fun," Hall said.
Dave has partnered with Sustainable Ballard. The produce from Sequim comes from Nash's Organic Farms, which uses an electric truck to deliver their produce to the marina. After the sail, he docks at Shilshole Marina, then loads an electric trike to deliver the produce to a drop off site. It makes for a festive Saturday in Ballard.
Customers say they get good food and a good feeling.
"I'm a sailor myself so I really appreciate them putting everything on a boat," said Ben Messina.
Reid says if they can move food from Sequim to Seattle regularly without any petroleum, "I think we've just done something a lot of people think can't be done."
At the end of the year, they'll crunch all the data from hours sailed to the amount of produce moved. Already the findings are encouraging, but Reid admits there are some commercial disadvantages.
"Are we ever gonna compete with container ships? No way," he says. "A 1,000 mile-per-gallon-per-ton -- that's really efficient -- probably the most efficient way we have of moving stuff around anywhere," he says.
But Reid is more interested in the routes container ships don't serve. He's already asking if he can move produce, what's next?
Reid's company also does produce runs from Poulsbo to Seattle.