Swept Away HR46 at anchor Second Wind at anchor Northern Exposure at anchor

We chose to ship the boat rather than sail it ourselves from Holland to the Mediterranean Sea for several reasons. First of all, we knew that the trip in the North Sea and the Atlantic would be either weeks long and very unpleasant, or months long and less unpleasant, from a comfort perspective. More importantly, we knew that we had only one chance to sail in Northern Europe, and we'd have to leave much earlier than we did to sail in good weather. We found a shipper who could take the boat from IJmuiden, near Amsterdam, to Palma de Mallorca, in Spain's Balearic Islands, in the Med. After several delays, the boat finally left Holland on September 2.

Step 1: We climbed up this ladder about twenty feet from the deck of our boat, and then climbed over the freighter's lifelines, to get from our boat to the deck of the freighter. It's not quite the gangway to a cruise ship, but we got aboard the freighter before they hoisted our boat out of the water.

Step 2: Divers went under the boat to position the slings properly. It's important to hoist the boat from spots specifically designed by the boat builder. Nobody wants a 20-ton boat to fall out of its slings while it's dangling over the sea...or a large freighter.

Step 3: With the slings in the right places, a giant crane on the deck of the freighter lifted our boat by these straps.

Step 4: The crane, shown here, continues to lift the boat until it is well clear of the freighter's decks.

Step 5: Eventually, the crane, with the help of crew members pulling in dock lines attached to the boat, positions the boat exactly above the right spot on a cradle. The cradle is very similar to those you see in boatyards for boats hauled out of the water, but this one is welded to the deck of the ship.

Step 6: Crew members secured the boat to the cradle for the voyage, and eventually placed about 18 straps from various places on the deck of our boat to the deck of the freighter.

Step 7: To be even more certain that the boat is secure, a crew member welded additional stops on the deck of the freighter. They'll probably have to remove them after our boat is launched and a new boat is loaded on deck.