A Sailing Farmer Steers Toward a Post-Carbon Future

Wearing a chemical respirator, Vermont farmer Erik Andrus lay underneath his home-built sailboat painting layers of epoxy resin over a fresh fiberglass patch on the boat’s leaky bottom. The boat was perched atop a trailer centimeters above his face, offering him little space to maneuver. Another gooey fiberglass patch was stuck to one hand and glue dripped on his head. It was midsummer 2013 and Andrus was neglecting his rice crop, fixing the stubborn leaks instead. His Vermont Sail Freight Project—launched that spring and now months behind schedule—was in peril. But Andrus had a goal: to prove that he could economically deliver food to market by water and wind. So, for now, boat repairs trumped farming.   Read Full Story

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