Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean is a freighter loaded with 13 tons of coveted supplies, steaming their way toward North America.

The cargo: curling rocks.

Their destination: New clubs across the United States, which couldn’t get started because of a stone shortage after the sport made a splash at the 2006 Olympics.

“It’s a good problem they have there,” said Olympic speedskating gold medalist Dan Jansen, a curling newcomer who got a chance to throw some rocks this month in a made-for-TV celebrity challenge.

Watching the sport on TV is one thing. But to start up a club means getting a set of the stones that are usually sculpted from granite boulders that fall from a Scottish island called the Ailsa Craig.

And there weren’t enough to go around.

So 40 new sets — each with 16 of the 42-pound stones — set sail from Scotland for Rotterdam aboard the Feederlink 3. From there, it’s on to Montreal on the Maersk Palermo and ultimately to Stevens Point, Wis., the home of the national governing body. (The U.S. Curling Association itself was unable to store 13 tons of granite in its small basement office, so a local publisher offered to hold onto it until they’re distributed.)

The sets are earmarked for clubs in Minnesota, Arizona, Tennessee, Michigan, Colorado, Indianapolis, Wyoming, California, New York and Nebraska. Through the World Curling Federation’s loan-to-purchase program, clubs can use the stones while they get started without the having to shell out as much as $7,600 for a set.

That took care of the supply.

Oh. The photo up top? I thought that might interest a few of you.

She’s on one of the pages from a fundraising calendar done for women’s curling teams around the world.