GOING BY FREIGHTER : The Slow Boat to Serenity

It occurs regularly, five days a week.

The telephone rings and George Henck sets free still another soul who’s grown weary of noise , pollution, traffic congestion and all the other irritations associated with a world that seems at times to have lost all control.

Again and again Henck’s telephone rings.

More than one daydreamer has yearned to take a slow boat to China.

--Endless days and open seas and a horizon that remains forever beyond the next adventure.

--No telephones, no traffic snarls and none of those other distractions a civilized society foists upon us.

--Only the serenity of the sea and the promise of other tomorrows without cares or pressures or a need to arrive anywhere . . . on time.

While this may sound like the impossible dream, George Henck is prepared to steer would-be runaways to ports nearly everywhere on Earth.

As the founder of Freighter World Cruises of Pasadena, Henck represents a fleet of more than 150 vessels that drop anchor at such exotic destinations as Alexandria and Rio, Montevideo and Valparaiso, Buenaventura, Keelung and Kobe, Tangier and Trieste. These and dozens more on every ocean and sea one can name.

His clients are the tired and the retired, a growing group that seeks the solace of ocean travel without the fuss of Ping-Pong tournaments, dressy parties, lounge shows, deck games and night-owl bars.

Besides the solitude that’s offered, freighter travel remains a bargain for the weary who prefer the ocean to a cramped seat on a crowded jet.

This isn’t to say that one can sail the oceans for $25 or $30 a day anymore.

“Those days are gone,” Henck says.

Inflation’s curse has put the squeeze on the freighter industry too, so that the per diem runs more to the tune of $50 to $120. Still, considering that the rates include a cabin with a window on the world along with meals, it’s a bargain that’s almost impossible to beat.

There’s Columbus Line’s voyage from Long Beach to Australia with calls at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Wellington, Auckland, Honolulu and Tacoma--around $95 a day aboard a freighter featuring carpeted cabins, air conditioning, private baths, refrigerators, a swimming pool, deck chairs, laundry service and a bar/lounge for the evening cocktail ritual.

The same line offers departures from Charleston, S.C., that take in New Orleans and Houston en route to Australia and New Zealand, with a return via the Panama Canal and calls at Curacao, Martinique, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad in the Caribbean.

While port time ranges from eight to 24 hours, it can turn into days due to weather, port congestion and the loading and unloading of cargo. Companies don’t guarantee pat schedules. One doesn’t necessarily make Rio in 10 days or two weeks. It’s possible. But again, chances are excellent it could be longer.

There is the freighter that was gone for more than four months on a trip originally figured for 80 days. For passengers it was a bonus. The extra days were on the house, which is the general rule with all freighter lines. Only if the ship returns home sooner is there an adjustment, which is always in favor of the passengers. Indeed, there was the couple that sailed on a 45-day cruise to Africa that ended up lasting 84 days, with a 12-day layover in Alexandria, Egypt.

Columbus Line also does around-the-world voyages of up to five months that figure out to about $75 a day per passenger. Henck (who’s known as the King of Freighter Cruising) cautions that life aboard a slow boat isn’t for everyone.

“The guy who enjoys partying all night would be bored silly. It’s like being stuck in the slow lane when you’re used to driving in the fast lane.”

Out of boredom, some passengers begin the cocktail hour soon after breakfast. Generally, though, most are content to delay that daily ritual for late afternoon while studying the sea, reading and watching movies on VCRs.

The Cheapest Trip

The cheapest trip on the books is a $50-a-day voyage with Polish Ocean Lines sailing from Hamburg. (Henck will get you to Europe inexpensively by air.) The freighter transits the Suez Canal before moving on to Singapore, Taiwan and Japan. From Hamburg back to Hamburg the ocean adventure involves 90 to 120 days.

Henck says the “hottest” development on the local freighter scene involves cruises around the world (both east and westbound) out of Long Beach. Figure on about 80/85 days, with visits to Yokohama, Pusan, Keelung, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Suez Canal, Genoa, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg or Bremen, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Fla., and the Panama Canal. (Eastbound sailings will feature the same ports.)

For the most part, freighters carry passengers who have lost their lust for night-owl bars, gambling and the midnight buffet featured by major cruise lines.

When George Henck tells you that freighter travel isn’t for everyone, he speaks with authority. His Freighter World Cruises has booked nearly 6,000 passengers on hundreds of trips. Since founding the company in 1976, Henck has had few squawks. On the contrary, dozens of clients leave one of the ships and two or three days later board another. Some travel six to eight months out of the year.

She’s Made 65 Voyages

There’s the woman from Kansas who’s done 65 trips by freighter. Another woman never sails without her cello. Once when she flew to meet her ship in Hong Kong she bought an extra first-class seat on the jet so that the musical instrument could travel alongside her.

One client told Henck he’d be flying to San Francisco to board his ship. When Henck asked for the name of the man’s airline, the passenger replied matter-of-factly: “I’ll be coming on my own jet.”

Henck’s roster of regulars include dozens of affluent clients who prefer freighter travel to sessions with a shrink. The list contains the names of doctors, lawyers and corporate types who seek surcease at sea from the stresses they suffer on shore. Author Alex Haley sails a couple of times a year to write without interruption. There are passengers of humble circumstances as well as couples who sail on second honeymoons aboard freighters.

American President Lines with its deluxe accommodations already is booked into ’89 for 80-day voyages to the Orient and Southeast Asia. It’s the same story with other freighter lines. Still, Henck maintains that he can put a passenger aboard a freighter tomorrow as long as they don’t care where they’re going.

“There are always cabins available somewhere,” he says.

Sometimes It’s Formal

While life aboard most freighters is strictly casual, one line that sails to the Caribbean encourages passengers to dress formally. Even though these are “banana boats.” Those on board are expected to show up in black tie and dressy gowns at dinner time.

On the other hand, there’s the wonderful world of the tramp steamer for adventurous types who aren’t concerned over duration or destination. A couple of tramps operated by Mineral Shipping do voyages of 35 to 70 days to ports unknown until shortly before departure, and even then the likelihood of setting a different course to a different destination is always a possibility.

Due to cargo carried by Mineral Shipping’s freighters Julia and Clary, port time frequently involves several days. Each ship carries a dozen passengers in carpeted cabins with picture windows and private baths. Although these are tramp steamers, the vessels feature lounge/bars, recreation rooms, air conditioning and swimming pools. Even an elevator.

A recent journey out of Savannah went by way of South America to four ports in Italy and Greece at a rate of $4,500 for about two months. This figured out to about $75 a day or the cost of an ordinary hotel room at home. Only with the tramp there’s the bonus of all that adventure and three meals a day.

Last November Mineral Shipping offered an even cheaper voyage that bottomed out at $50 a day, Savannah to Rotterdam.

One couple described a trip aboard the Julia as “fabulous,” and the ship as “luxurious and spotless,” with a friendly crew and an “outstanding captain.”

In Pasadena, Freighter World Cruises is booking monthly trips beginning this spring from Montreal to Antwerp, where the vessel is scheduled to tie up for five to six days, allowing passengers to travel by land to other points in Europe or else laze around Antwerp, using the ship as a hotel. The voyage is described as “strictly first-class,” with suites priced at $3,150 for 32 days.

A Yugoslav freighter will be doing 38- to 40-day voyages--Montreal to the Mediterranean ports of Valencia, Genoa, Livorno (Leghorn), Naples, Trieste and Koper with a return to Montreal--for as little as $3,125 during ’87.

In connection with bargain air fares to Europe, Freighter World Cruises is also booking 55-day trips between England and Africa for $4,400, a price that includes a one-week layover at an exotic island off the coast of West Africa.

Some Never Go Ashore

Other sailings zero in on the South Seas, South America, the Orient and the Caribbean. Some passengers never go ashore. They’re on board strictly for the voyage and the chance to ditch their frustrations at sea.

A new six-day trip from Vancouver through the Inside Passage got off to a successful start with an introductory offer of $595 per passenger in February. Already space is sold out for the entire year. The ship with its three passenger decks calls at isolated Indian villages, logging camps and fishing ports, carrying a dozen passengers in first-class cabins.

In ’88 a new 90-passenger cargo ship operated by Ivaran Lines is scheduled to go into service between the United States and South America, doing 48-day voyages at a hefty $10,000 to $15,000 per passenger. The ship, which will carry nurses and a doctor, is expected to make port in Rio and Santos in Brazil as well as Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Cabins aboard the luxury cargo-passenger liner will feature TV sets, radios, telephones and refrigerators. In addition, public areas will provide a lounge/bar, saunas, a swimming pool and a library.

A husband-wife team described their freighter trip: “With other passengers we were truly a family. We played cards and cribbage, worked jigsaw puzzles, watched movies and got together for happy hours each evening. Snacks were available around the clock.”

Dancers Came Aboard

Another couple told of their voyage to the South Seas. “There were Britishers, Australians, Tongans, Filipinos and Micronesians among the crew. This was a big freighter. A beautician was on board as well as a doctor. We played shuffleboard and bingo and at one island dancers came aboard.”

One passenger said of his journey, “We had no news of what was going on in the world. The only bell we heard was the ship’s bell--no door bells, no solicitors. No TV, no daily newspaper. Only rest and relaxation.”

Once at sea some passengers won’t budge. They wish only to sit and study the nothingness spread before them. Because that’s what they came aboard for in the first place.

Henck of Freighter World Cruises is constantly asked the question: “How long will my ship be in port?” And of course he’s never sure. In the case of a container ship it could be a few hours. In other instances it could be days. Henck recalls one ship that was tied up over a labor dispute in Egypt for three weeks.

The passengers had a ball.

So if ever you’ve had the urge to chuck it all, you might want to consider the thought of escaping on a freighter. Forget what day it is. Forget about tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. And the day after that.

Just fill the mind and soul with the pleasure and the serenity of the sea.

For other details, contact George Henck, Freighter World Cruises Inc., 1800 S. Lake Ave., Suite 335, Pasadena 91101 or telephone (818) 449-3106. (Ask about a subscription to the biweekly Freighter Advisory that’s published by FWC.)