Mysterious empty house boat from Canada washed ashore in Ireland

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Mysterious Canadian house boat washes up on shores of Ireland


An empty house boat from Canada has washed up on the shores of Ireland

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The mystery of who was behind an empty Canadian house boat that washed up on the Irish coast has been solved.

The houseboat came ashore on Drum Beach, Belmullet, County Mayo, Ireland, in November 2016, with clues as to who made it but contained no signs of life.

The peculiar looking craft had solar panels on the top but was badly damaged, despite still being afloat.

Inside was an inscription:

“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”.

At the time, efforts to track down Rick Small provided futile and it was not known whether he was alive or dead or indeed if he existed.

Canadian broadcaster CTV however have managed to track down Mr Small in Victoria, British Columbia, on the Pacific coast.

Mr Small, 62, was a passionate advocate of solar technology and built the boat to highlight the danger of climate change to the Arctic and Canadian Artic.

His plan was to set sail from Newfoundland, where it was constructed, up the coast toward the diminishing sea ice of the Artic ocean.

But after his plan was scuppered by his failure to find an appropriate motor, for reasons not explained, he donated the boat to a homeless youth.

Small said: “I wanted to go from Newfoundland up around the Arctic and then come here (Victoria).”

He added he was pleased that the vessel had made it across the Atlantic, adding: “It didn’t sink, so it must have done a good job, hey?”

A statement on the Facebook page of Ballyglass Coast Guard, which was involved in searches when the houseboat washed ashore, said: “A good news story… Thankfully Rick was located safe and well… Mystery solved.”

The fate of the homeless youth he gave the houseboat to remains unknown, so do the reasons as to why or how the vessel made it from the Pacific coast of Canada to the Atlantic coast of Ireland.


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About the Author

Esteban Gaviria
Periodista de Los Tiempos Al-Sahawat en Barcelona, España. Journalist for Al-Sahawat Times in Barcelona, Spain. Giornalista per Al-Sahawat Times in Barcelona, Spagna.