Environmental / Sustainable Sailors Wanted !

[gettinthere]

Thanks! Point made.

[NatKat]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

... any claims to "Green" are simply self serving feelgood delusions...
, YMMV.

Good point ... I question this every day of my life.

Fibreglass, boat paint, varnish, et al are toxic ... OTOH in the grand scheme of enjoying the end of the 1st world as we know it ... saiboats can be a green way to go. Compared to powerboats, jet skis, RVs, Monster Trucks, and all the other gass-guzzling cr*p we spoiled, silly, wasteful Americans love.

Buying an older sailboat keeps new production down and arguably "re-cycles" existing resources.

OK ... this is about to get pretty graphic ... but you can completely eliminate using toilet paper by doing what about 50% of the world does anyway ... a cup next to the head ... you can use either seawater or sink water depending on freshwater conservation needs.

Hummanure composting wont work for long bluewater cruises ... but I just went for 1.5 years (on land) making ZERO SEWAGE. All greywater including urine went to garden and all "human solid waste" went to humanure composting.

We are not bluewater sailors ... but adapting a similar philosophy on Ocean. Greywater & urine goes to ocean being careful to use only biodegradable & non-toxic cleaning products. Human solid waste goes in "luggable loo" with mulch and hay (read the book ... it will explain the science of composting) and bury on land. Obviously we don't do this in Marina ... use the facilities like everyone else.

Researching "Nature's Head" solar powered marine composting toilet. Pricetag not in budget right now ... but perhaps soon. Luggable Loo kinda sucks on a boat but I refuse to use that blue chemical.

Zero plastic trash in Ocean.

Given the scope of ecological disaster caused by 1st World materialism ... this may be self-serving feel-good nonsense ... OTOH ... better to do something small than nothing at all.

There are many ways sailors can make their hobby 100% green or close to it. The minimalism of live-aboards in itself is an important step away from the consumerist greed philosophy of endless aquisition.

cheers and thanks for a great thread!
~Ventura CA

[Yofy]

Aboard Yofy, we have been slowly working towards getting off the grid for good. We use solar pannels and wind a generator and keep our electrical use to a minimum. We do have a diesel engine but we mostly sail. We use biodegradeable cleaning products when we can and we avoid using pastics that will be disposed of (like plastic bags and bottles).

A few months ago we posted a DIY on a cheap and easy way to convert your cabin lights to LEDS. You can read it here

Robyn

[SaucySailoress]

Yofi

I am working my way through your bag with interest. You guys strive towards the lifestyle I would like to try, but find impossible to do so, on account of being too dependant on my car and computer...

The video about plastic bags was awesome. I was inspired to blog about (and hence reflect on) my own practises as far as plastic bags go. I was not pleased by what I saw.

We need more ideas on how to reduce the use of plastics...

[Yofy]

Hey. We have a car and a computer too. We don't use the car much, but that's also because we live within walking distance of most places. Manny's interested in bio fuel and I think he might try his hand at it, if we had a place where he could do it. (Dockside, is not a good location for making bio fuel .)

I think even beginning with looking at how we can reduce our consumption of plastic bags is a wonderful start. Its definetly something that we all can do.

[boatman61]

Saucy... I think we can look on computors as a nessecary evil for our lifestyle... like boats... but at least its a smaller impact on the environment than brick and mortar overall... living on a boat makes owning a car a non essential as in most places local transport is more than adequate.. if it can't be loaded on the boat for a short notice journey it aint nessecary...
If truly cruising/moving round the world by boat its essentail for quick efficient communication... (How else could I annoy folks on CF0.......
same applies for income be it managing your money or seeking work to maintain ones life... and I hear some even use them to navigate..
a dubious pratice... but gaining supporters it seems....
So don't feel guilty if you've a 12v capable laptop....
I am sorta halfway against folks who have more than 1 over 20ft boat...
it adds an unessecary load/impact on the Environment...

[JanetGroene]

Each week in my blog I post a recipe made entirely from pantry-stowed ingredients. Sometimes being "green" means living on the local economy but at other times it means supplying your own food and other products when visiting a poor country where it wouldn't be fair to complete with locals for sparse food supplies.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by Yofy

. . . I think even beginning with looking at how we can reduce our consumption of plastic bags is a wonderful start. Its definetly something that we all can do.

That's an easy one - In the French Islands you go to the super markets and buy your food and take the cart to the check-out. They total up the items and push them to the end of the counter where there are NO plastic or any other kind of bags. You must bring your own canvas or other bags to carry your purchases of food back to the boat.
- - Of course, you can always tell who are cruising sailors as they are wearing the standard uniform of backpacks to carry their purchases. It is amazing that after a short while you know exactly how much to buy so that the backpacks are not too full.

[Lancerbye]

Originally Posted by osirissail

That's an easy one - In the French Islands you go to the super markets and buy your food and take the cart to the check-out. They total up the items and push them to the end of the counter where there are NO plastic or any other kind of bags. You must bring your own canvas or other bags to carry your purchases of food back to the boat.
- - Of course, you can always tell who are cruising sailors as they are wearing the standard uniform of backpacks to carry their purchases. It is amazing that after a short while you know exactly how much to buy so that the backpacks are not too full.

That concept is starting to happen in some stores on Vancouver Island. It's a step in the right direction.

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Yofi

I am working my way through your bag with interest.

Did I say "bag"? I meant "blog", of course...

Originally Posted by boatman61

I am sorta halfway against folks who have more than 1 over 20ft boat...
it adds an unessecary load/impact on the Environment...

Darn - but we took two of our of our 3x thirty foot dive boats out of the water - to make space for us to sublet the berths to other dive boats....

Originally Posted by osirissail

It is amazing that after a short while you know exactly how much to buy so that the backpacks are not too full.

Yeah - reminds me of my student days, on a bike!

[troymclure]

Well I suppose sailing may or may not be a green endevour compared to say hiking. But my environmental impact has gone way down since I started cruising.

If i lived on land and had a car i'd use more petrol per week then i do now. And my fuel costs now include electricity which they wouldn't on land. Add in water savings and your environmental impact must be significantly less.

[Yofy]

I agree with you troymclure. When we are cruising we really enjoy not having a car. Right now we are living aboard and a car is essential for Manny's work, but we bike and walk a lot too. I think living close to nature makes us more aware of the impact we are having on our planet. Even something simple such as flushing our drains makes me conscious about what I am putting in the sea. And our water and electricity usage are certainly lower than if we were living on land.