A sailboat skimming along the surface of the water on a sunny, breezy day would seem to be about as “green” as you can get. After all, the boat is powered by a renewable energy source -- the wind -- so it’s not burning oil or belching greenhouse gases into the air.
Sailors for the Sea works to educate the public on how to make sailing environmentally friendly. Credit: Sailors for the SeaYet it turns out that, like just about any other endeavor, sailing can foul the environment in ways large and small, from dumping raw sewage into the water to using paints that contain toxic compounds.
A group founded in 2004 is trying to help make sailing cleaner by educating sailors, boat makers, and race operators.
The group is called Sailors for the Sea. It helps promote practices that protect the marine environment. It encourages boat owners to use recharging stations instead of dumping wastes into the water, for example, and to clean their boats between dips in the water to make sure they don’t carry marine organisms into new habitats. The group also provides tips for preventing oil spills, and recommends tools for cleaning up any oil that does spill.
Sailors for the Sea is also working with regattas around the country to help clean up their acts. Those that meet a long list of recommendations are certified as “clean” events.
And it’s even working with builders to encourage them to use recyclable or reusable materials, and to adopt other practices that will be friendlier to the environment -- helping ensure that sailors not only enjoy those picture-perfect days on the waves, they help preserve them.
