Solar-powered houseboat from Canada washes up in Ireland
Well, here's something you don't see every day.
After a lengthy journey across the Atlantic Ocean, a houseboat -- believed to have been built in Canada by environmentalist Rick Small -- washed up on a beach in Ireland.
According to the BBC, the Ballyglass Coast Guard Unit in Ireland was notified after someone spotted the massive solar-powered structure floating along the coast near Cross Beach.
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On Sunday, the unit posted several photographs of the vessel to Facebook before taking it ashore.
The houseboat's solar panels and wooden structure can clearly be seen in the photographs, along with a handwritten note on the boat's interior which reads: "I, Rick Small, donate this structure to a homeless youth to give them a better life that Newfoundlanders choose not to do! No rent, no mortgage, no hydro."
The BBC reported that coast guard officer Michael Hurst, who secured the vessel, described the floating object as surprising. "The shape, itself, is very unusual, because of the size of it. I initially thought it might be a caravan," he said. Though no passengers were found on board, Hurst said the inside of the houseboat was "habitable."
According to the publication, Timothy John Ewart, a resident of Conception Bay in Canada, saw the vessel last year on a beach near his home and reportedly spoke to Small.
"The boats steering system was only a piece of plywood bolted to a PVC pipe. And the motors barely had enough power to move," Ewart said. "I never saw him again."
Talk about a mystery ...
Topics Sustainability
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
