Reflections on 2025 part 2 - the year in sail cargo

2025 was a something of a ‘pause and reflect’ year on the sail cargo side of Raybel Charters.

We only organised a couple of cross-Atlantic arrivals: a small cargo of corn for a London restaurant from Mexico. And a new supply of coffee and panela, both sourced from communnites in the Sierra Nevada mountains of north-east Colombia.

The corn was a hair-raising experience, where we discovered the full consequence of the ‘demuragge’ – a term in international shipping that covers various types of delay cost. The ship was unable to load the cargo at Puerto Morales Mexico for 10 days – way more than we’ve ever encountered before – with an eye-watering rate of €3,000 a day. Does it feel like there’s a whole system out there rigged to put the ‘small and beautiful’ out of business? We paid our share (thankfully our cargo was tiny and the fee was pro-rata) and the corn arrived. They were some pricey tortillas though.

We didn’t do a European voyage in the year, still having stock from 2024. And with potential new developments on the horizon for 2026, which will hopefully mean we have a supply of olive oil much earlier in the season, and from the 2025 harvest (news on that soon).

Our relationship with the two Portuguese olive oil producers we work goes back many years now, and we’re very proud to support their amazing work. We’ve worked directly with them since 2018, with no intermediaries, meaning they are paid well and fairly.

The Reigado oil is from a protected nature reserve in the Coa Valley where some trees are over 1,000 years old. And the Caixero oil is made from organic olives, on land farmed by the same families for generations. This next generation of farmers have brought a new approach, growing rosemary, lavender and wild flowers beneath the trees. They pick the olives at the optimum time, in November, to maximise the health-giving polyphenols that are so abundant in olive oil.

We really want as many people to experience this oil as possible. It’s a premium product, which we’re selling for half the price that you might pay at some ‘boutique’ olive oil websites and supermarkets. This is the beauty of sail cargo. Beyond harnessing the wind to bring goods across the sea, it’s about enabling people to enjoy and benefit from produce of the highest quality at a price that is affordable..