Pool Boat

Rivers lead to the coast, no one would dispute this, and herein lies a solution. Rivers are in fact an introduction to the sea and they are consequently the ideal and most poetic route to the coast. You drive a car, but travel in a boat. The car is a mode of transport, the boat transports us to other realms.

Whether the boat is quicker than the car is no longer important, because the boat has become an attractive destination in itself. the holiday begins and ends in the many inland harbours. These home ports can share in the profits of the downstream box-office hit: the coast.

The boat as a means of transporting passengers or as a place for recreation is not new. The combination of both, however, is rare. The boat envisaged here is a cross between a goal-orientated Fast Ferry and a wandering Spido or a waterbus and a party ship. The boat should be more than a means of transport and comprise elements that link up with, and are essentially part of, the past or future beach experience. passengers on the outward journey should be able to swim a few laps and sunbathe (warm-up), and on the home journey bathe in the evening sun and enjoy a beer and chips (après-côte?). All this against a background of river landscapes, harbours and cities.