An unusual boat from Canada has had an incredible journey before the Malin Head Coast Guard were alerted to it and it washed up off the coast of Mayo.
The solar-panelled wooden houseboat was spotted in the water off the west of Belmullet on Sunday. A beach walker notified the Malin Head Coast Guard, and when the vessel washed ashore, a number of mysteries arose.
The boat was taken from the sea by Mayo County Council and has become quite the attraction.
There was a note written on the inside the boat, which provided more detail about where it came from.
The note read: “I, Rick Small, donate this structure to a homeless youth to give them a better life that Newfoundlanders choose not to do! No rent, no mortgage, no hydro”.
The builder, Rick Small, is an environmentalist from Ontario Canada. He had intended to give the boat to a homeless person, but it is not yet known how it came as far as Ireland. The 20x10ft boat was made with driftwood and materials for flotation.
The houseboat was last seen in Canada on the 4th of August.
For five months, it seems the boat drifted across the Atlantic Ocean but no sightings were ever reported. Over that time, the boat would have endured storms and hurricanes – even Hurricane Matthew.
Mike Mullins, the Radio Officer of Malinhead Coast Guard, said “if that boat could talk it would have a story to tell”.
Tags: