This sailing season, we’re focusing on sustainability with our “Sailing Towards Sustainability” initiative. While sailing is already a low-impact way to travel, there’s always room to improve. Here’s how we’re integrating eco-friendly habits across our courses and charters.
Food & Provisioning 🍴🌱
Avoiding Food Waste and Supporting Local Communities
Smart provisioning isn’t just about efficiency—it’s a way to reduce waste while supporting local economies. Our tips:
- Plan Ahead: Create detailed provisioning lists to avoid over-buying – count how many meals you’re planning to cook, and how many time you will be eating out.
- Shop Local: Purchase fresh, unpackaged produce from small vendors to cut down on packaging waste and support local businesses.
- Use Leftovers Creatively: Turn yesterday’s grilled veggies into hearty salads or sandwich fillings.
- Pack Reusably: Replace single-use bags with reusable ones for fruits, veggies, and dry goods.
Why Food Scraps Don’t Belong in the Ocean
Even biodegradable food waste like peels and scraps can disrupt marine ecosystems before they biodegrade completely. Scraps attract wildlife, pollute beaches, and fuel harmful algal blooms. Instead, we store food waste for proper disposal or composting onshore.
Plastic-Free Sailing 🥤🚫
Plastic pollution is one of the biggest threats to our oceans. Here’s how we tackle it:
- Refillable Bottles and Travel Mugs to avoid single-use bottles and cups, even in cafes
- Reusable Food Wraps and Containers: use beeswax wraps instead of plastic wrap, and durable containers instead of disposables.
- Eco-Friendly Utensils: Swap plastic straws and cutlery for bamboo or stainless steel, or skip them entirely.
- Reusable Shopping Bags: Every provisioning trip includes cloth bags to reduce waste.
Eco-Friendly Cleaning 🫧🍋
Cleaning onboard can impact marine ecosystems, as everything you put down the drain goes into the water, so we prioritize non-toxic, biodegradable products:
- Vinegar-Based Solutions: Paired with baking soda and lemon for effective, chemical-free cleaning.
- Eco-Friendly Soaps: Biodegradable dishwashing liquids and personal care products protect ocean life.
- Reef-Safe Sunscreen: Essential for protecting coral reefs while sailing and swimming, always use mineral based sunscreens
- Reusable Cloths: Zero-waste cleaning without disposable paper towels.
Water Conservation 💧
Freshwater is precious, even on the ocean. We save water through:
- Low-Flow Faucets: Cutting water usage by up to 50%.
- Turning Off Taps: During dish washing, tooth brushing and soaping up in the shower – a small habit that saves gallons daily.
- Saltwater Use: For washing dishes, laundry, and more, using eco-friendly saltwater soaps.
- Watermakers Onboard: Turning seawater into freshwater during long passages, reducing reliance on bottled water.
Responsible Anchoring ⚓🌿
Anchoring improperly can damage delicate underwater ecosystems. Here’s how we anchor responsibly:
- Use Mooring Buoys: Our first choice in marine-protected areas. We’ve even installed our own buoy in Antigua’s Five Islands!
- Anchor in Sand Patches: Avoiding coral reefs and seagrass beds.
- Check the Chain: Prevent dragging that could harm the seabed, also when the boat is swinging in the wind
- Sea Grass Care: Shake off seagrass at the anchoring site to prevent ecosystem disruption.
Join Us on the Journey 🌍
Sustainability is a shared responsibility, and every little bits counts. We’re excited to implement these practices and share with our students and guests. Learn more about our sustainability practices: Sailing Towards Sustainability