A town in northern Spain has a new and unique distinction: It’s the home port for a reproduction 16th century whaling boat built entirely of expired chocolate—a ton and a half of it!
It took a team of 40 chocolatiers, chefs and craftsmen almost two months to build the ship, which set sail for the first time on June 1st, after an elaborate launch ceremony. Wood was used only for the seats and keel.
Representatives of the port of Pasaia said that the launch was a “technical feat and representative project of symbolic memory for Basque maritime history and the history of chocolate.”
Until the launch and a successful voyage around the harbor, by the way, no one was sure the boat would actually float or whether the salt water would dissolve the chocolate. The voyage was accompanied by two wooden boats, just in case.
