What is green sailing?

What is sustainability? What is sustainable sailing?

Sustainable sailing is about educating myself on choices I can make to reduce my impact on the environment and following through by making informed purchases and decisions regarding how I outfit and live on my boat. To this end, I continue to enlighten myself so that the ocean I love will be a healthy ecosystem that my family and future families can continue to enjoy. I worry about the deteriorating reefs around the world, the increasingly toxicity of fish, the amount of garbage in the ocean, and the inevitable loss of this amazing ecosystem if we continue not to care about how our choices affect the natural world. I hope that we can open a dialogue about ways we can work together to utilize existing technology and create a demand for more environmentally friendly products for sailors, to find alternatives to the harsh chemicals that we employ in maintenance of our boats and a reduction on our dependence of gas powered engines for our energy needs.

Since I’m asked, “what is sustainable sailing?” quite often, I’ve collected a couple definitions and outlined a few of my own to begin a dialogue on how we can answer this question.

Wikipedia has this to say about sustainability:

“...able to be sustained for an indefinite period without damaging the environment or without depleting a resource; renewable

For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources....

...Efforts to live more sustainably can take many forms from reorganising living conditions (e.g., eco-villages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), reappraising economic sectors (green building, sustainable agriculture), or work practices (sustainable architecture), using science to develop new technologies (green technologies, renewable energy), to adjustments in individual lifestyles.”

(You can see the entire definition here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability)

I see sustainable sailing as an effort to:

1. Utilize available technology (such as solar panels, wind generators, composting toilets) to protect and conserve our natural resources thereby reducing our need to use generators, engines or waste systems that pollute our air and water.
2. Informing ourselves and others on lifestyle choices such as reducing use of plastic, not throwing waste and garbage into our oceans or waters, choosing products on and around our boats that are not harmful to ecosystems.
3. Consider how our consumer buying choices affect our environment. (buying local, and locally made products, choosing products that have less packaging and made from recycled and recylable materials)
4. Adjusting your lifestyle to use less natural resources. (reducing water consumption, electric and gas consumption, keeping engines fuel efficient, and remembering to reduce, reuse and recycle in new and creative ways)

As I continue to try new products, research new ideas and share this with my family, friends and boating community I hope you will join me by asking questions, posting suggestions or sharing a product or idea of your own.