'In the midst of difficulty, lies opportunity...'
Time. That one thing every yacht crew member wants more of, right?
So with a lot of Europe now back into a Covid related lockdown and with the European winter season in full swing there is no better time to start looking into the yachts practices in terms of sustainability. Amongst the moans and groans about the lack of freedom, curfews across countries and travel plans on hold, we have decided to look on the positive side of another lockdown.
There are so many things, especially when it comes to sustainability, that tend to be put on the back burner when a yacht and its crew are so busy with everything else. So now with lockdown coinciding with winter and more time to do those jobs that are always left to the bottom of the list, we want to emphasise that this is THE perfect time to put sustainability on the top of that list and to get started on changing things onboard.
Disclaimer: this list isn't just for lockdown, but we figured it would be a good time to start if you haven’t already!
1. Switch to eco-friendly cleaning products; embrace the world of online shopping and order some non toxic and eco friendly cleaning products for the boat.
2. Reusable over single use; this is anything from water bottles, shopping bag to toiletries to - now, in todays world - face masks.
3. Reduce your food waste; there is nothing wrong with re-imagining leftovers, get creative with smoothies and run down your food stores to ensure that the stock rotation is effective.
4. Safe & socially distant beach cleans; depending on the country you in will depend on your restrictions but if you can go out for a walk why not incorporate it into some beach cleaning at the same time.
5. Keep up the morale; lockdown and lack of freedom is hard on any crew member, be positive and make the best of the situation onboard, organise crew activities to keep the entertainment and atmosphere onboard positive.
6. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; the three R’s are there to prevent waste and conserve our natural resources. Implementing these 3 R’s onboard within all activities onboard is a great start and a step towards sustainability. Clearing out the yacht doesn’t necessarily mean throwing things away and even if you can no longer use it, then remember there is always someone else that can.
7. Sustainable & local sourcing; whether you need new duvets for the yacht or simply the weekly provisions, do your best to buy sustainably and locally. Do your research and ensure you know where your products are coming from and how they are being made.
8. Switch to digital where you can; it is surprising the amount of waste that is generated from the bridge & offices onboard, today there are few things that actually need to be printed on paper so go paperless. And if you do need to print, ensure you are printing double-sided and using recycled printing paper.
9. Giving back; get together as a crew and choose a cause that you can raise money for, anything from an old fashioned swear jar through to fundraising challenges
10. Ask for help; and finally, get in contact with us. We can provide you with a consultancy service to help you make more sustainable changes onboard and point you int he right direction of sustainable suppliers throughout the industry.
&... if you still have additional time on your hands and want to help us out, please spend 5 minutes filling out our Seastainable crew survey. We are refining our resources and want to help crew out in the best way possible:
We would love to hear from you, tag us in your @SeastainableYachting lockdown attempts and get in contact if you would like to hear more how you can make changes onboard.
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