Aid to Haiti - How Sailors Can Help

A quick note for all those who have not yet heard through other sources. OceansWatch North America and some of our cruising community are coming together to send help to Haiti as it tries to cope with the devastating earthquake and its aftermath.

OceansWatch is involved in helping put together a flotilla of vessels to carry needed aid to Haiti. All who can are invited to contribute, however they can. As news stories indicate, the need continues to be overwhelming, and every little bit anyone can contribute helps.

If you want to know more about their efforts, please go to their page describing what they are doing and how you can help.

You can find the information here.

Electric or Diesel, That is the Question...

As those who follow our travel blog will know, this past year our diesel engine declared itself officially and permanently out of service. Since it is an older engine, and rather small for the weight and size of our boat, we were not completely surprised. For a while before the final refusal to start we had been idly debating - when this engine finally quits for the last time, should we replace it with a larger diesel, or should we go electric?

There are arguments for replacing our engine with a more reliable, more powerful diesel. After all, diesel engines are widely available, normally reliable and use well-known technology. Parts are easily available for most brands. And we could use it to generate both electrical power and heat if we needed to.

But there are disadvantages. As we know all too well, a diesel engine tends to be dirty, noisy, smelly and environmentally unfriendly. Even a well-maintained engine pollutes the air and the water when running. Diesel fuel is expensive enough now, and likely to get more expensive in the long run.

Then we thought about when we normally use our engine. This is usually in the most vulnerable waters - inlets, sheltered channels and harbours. In the past our now defunct noisy, smelly motor has encouraged us to use our sails more and our engine less than than we might have. We considered briefly being engineless (think of the space that would free up!). But our last voyage has shown us that we like having an engine to call on when we need to - waiting cold and tired outside a long inlet with a strong current and no wind was one of the things that made that point for us.

We’ve thought about them before, but now we decided it was time to look more closely at electric motors. Though still not widespread, electric motors are becoming more and more common, and we can see that they have some important advantages. They are more environmentally friendly than an internal combustion engine. They are quiet. The motor itself is lightweight and small; the batteries are heavy, but they can be distributed in the way that best suits your own boat. The motor does not need to be warmed up, will run at very low speeds, provides instant torque when needed. The controls used tend to be very simple.

We considered the possible disadvantages, and considered them again. Our range would be more limited. Would that make cruising in some areas much more difficult? While the motor itself might not be terribly expensive compared to a new diesel, we would have to put in more solar panels, probably change our wind generator to a 48 volt one, and change our prop to use the motor more efficiently and take advantage of the ability to regenerate power from its revolutions as we sailed. In other words, we would be laying out the money for our ‘fuel’ now, rather than as we travelled. Somewhat like buying sails.

For a long time we hesitated over the question of range, and researched what was happening in the field of battery technology that might improve things. We found that there is a lot of research and development going on which might help us in the long run. There was even a chance, depending on costs, we would be able to use some of the new battery technology when we actually installed the motor. Richard did a lot of the research on the internet, and a lot of the talking to other people. We kept going back and forth, but underlying the discussions was the feeling that we really wanted the clean quiet an electric motor offered us.

One day in Martha’s Vineyard an EV (Electric Vehicle) and solar power enthusiast we happened to drop in on told us about Electric Yacht. We visited the web site, looked at the systems, read the conversion stories, and discussed things some more. Then we got in touch with Scott there and had all our questions answered.

So the decision is made. We’ve found a system we like (no need to reinvent the wheel) at a reasonable price, with lots of helpful info thrown in for the asking. We will have to put in more solar panels and change the wind generator - but once we’ve done that we won’t depend on diesel fuel for travelling when we have to motor. And once the system is installed and working, we’ll have the pleasure of knowing that we won't be polluting the waters we love to travel through.

We'll cut down on our contribution to pollution. One small change in one small boat, but that’s how change happens - one boat, one step, at a time.

Considering Our Environments

There are many different kinds of environments that make up our world. Most of the time when we think about environmental consciousness we think of the ‘natural’ environment we travel through and live in - in our case the waters that are our home.

Yet the ‘social’ environment we are part of as we travel is just as important. Part of it is made up of other cruisers, who in their own way and for their own reasons travel the seas and waterways. The other part is the social world of the people whose homes we visit.

Many cruisers find companionship and help among that first group; friendships form and groups develop when we are with those who are most like us. Some find more friends in the countries they visit, and in doing so come to know people whose lives are different, sometimes very different, from theirs. Their interaction with the social environments they find themselves in leaves them more knowledgeable about and aware of the world they are passing through.

Care of this social environment should be as much a part of cruising as care of the natural environment. Caring for either takes effort - the effort to learn what helps and what harms, the effort to consider your own individual actions and their effects, and the effort to make changes when change is needed.

If each person did what they could, learned what they should, and acted with the thought and consideration they wished others would - then person by person, step by step, a little at a time, we would enhance our relationship with the world around us. If each person took the time to observe what was expected and by their actions showed their respect for other people and other places, then our passing would weigh more lightly where we visited and we would be kindly remembered after we left.

Like those cruisers who understand when resources are scarce, as water is in many places, and find ways to avoid using those scarce resources. Or those who take the time to observe how people dress and behave, and, having observed, dress and behave in ways that will not offend. Or those who, asking, learn what is needed and help where help is needed - or asked for.

At the very least we can try to avoid doing things that harm our natural environment or create difficulties in living with our social environment. The reward? Why should it be any more than knowing we are doing the best we can for the world we live in?

Losing the Plastics: Soaps

So to soaps. As we know, shampoos and conditioners and liquid soaps come packaged in plastic bottles. But they are also available in bar form - and you can buy them from people who use fair trade sources to buy their ingredients. Here is what we learned about bar soaps in general:

Most soaps are made by a process called saponification, which uses an alkali called lye that reacts with oil to produce soap. Many commercial bars have the glycerin resulting from this process removed to be put to other uses - unfortunately for us, since glycerin helps our skin stay healthy. So while these soaps may be very good at cleaning the skin, they are drying and tend to leave a residue behind which can be irritating to the skin. Glycerin soaps, to which glycerin has been added or from which it has not been removed, (usually transparent) are kinder to the skin. Syndet bars such as Dove are made from synthetic surfactants, and are said to be the mildest on the skin. Some bars combine synthetic surfactants with other ingredients to try to get the best of both worlds.

Syndet bars sound like a good way to go - except that the surfactants may be created from petroleum products. While this may become less and less the case as petroleum products increase in price, it did make me decide to look around at another alternative - soaps with glycerin that are made from natural oils bought through Fair Trade suppliers. This adds another dimension to the decision - trying to buy from sources who work to make sure those who actually produce the crops we are buying get paid well and fairly for their work. While we were looking around, we found our way by word of mouth to SimplyByAmanda, where we found soaps and body butters handmade from fair trade ingredients. And as another bonus, no plastic packaging. Through SimplyByAmanda we found our way to Grass Roots, where a shampoo and conditioner bar is available. One set of answers to our dilemma...

We also decided to do something about our laundry detergent. Liquid laundry detergent comes in plastic bottles - but powdered detergent does not. On the other hand, powdered detergent needs to be kept dry, something which is not always easy on a boat. So we decided to buy powdered detergent (phosphate free, of course) and transfer it to the plastic bottles we had originally had the liquid detergent in - hopefully, that will be a workable solution. And there are also bars of laundry soap available here or in the islands, so we’ll keep that in mind as we cruise too.

We’ve also decided to avoid those single-use throwaway plastics that are so much a part of life in so many places in the world. Here, we can recycle many of them, and it’s an easy enough decision to pay attention to the packages we buy and make sure that things we purchase are packaged in the kind of plastic which can be recycled. But we will not always be here, and even where it is available recycling uses energy which is becoming increasingly costly, both financially and environmentally. So we also decided to pay attention to buying things which are not packaged in plastic, in some cases not packaged at all.

We’ve started small. Since we began cruising we’ve used our backpacks to transport groceries to and from the boat, so using them without first putting things in plastic bags is not much of a stretch and makes us feel better. Though it does sometimes feel as if we have to beat the cashier to the packing... Happily the Farmer’s Market will be opening soon, and we can join the throngs already using their own bags there, and have good fresh vegetables and fruit beside.

A few small steps down the road, and we are still experimenting and looking around. And thinking about so much more - how to handle our garbage in places where good garbage disposal does not exist (we’d rather not see it come drifting back in from the sea); changing our engine to electric; what fuels to use to cook and heat. We’ll let you know what we’re thinking and planning and how things turn out...

Tackling the Question of Plastic

An assessment of the many things we buy that are packaged in plastic is eye-opening. Food, personal care items, cleaning stuff - a lot of it comes to us from the store wrapped, encased and stored in plastic. A look around the bathroom reveals liquid soaps, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, bathroom cleaners, toothpaste - and that does not include things like toothbrushes and razors, which are disposable in whole or in part. In the kitchen, food containers, dish detergent bottles, various storage containers, laundry soap container - all plastic. The medicine cabinet is full of plastic bottles and tubes. And of course many of the things we use are made of plastic too. So the first thing to do is to make some decisions about what it is sensible for us to try and change, and what we will live with - at least for now, unless and until we learn of other solutions.

Reuse and recycle - two of the words that are supposed to help us reduce garbage, and a good place to start from here. The reuse of plastic containers is limited by the space available to store those reused containers in, and that is particularly true on the boat where space and efficient storage are always the prime consideration. And by their usefulness for the purpose contemplated. There is a good side to this: on board plastic can keep goods normally stored in paper or cardboard dry and free of creatures or mould. Bulk goods packed in smaller containers may stay fresh longer, since I can bring out small portions at a time and the whole won’t be exposed every time a container is opened. And repackaging reduces the chance of finding that unexpected hitchhikers have arrived with the cardboard you brought aboard - like cockroaches, a pet hate of ours.

Recycling is easier is some places than others, and there are places where it is not available at all. Even where it is available it is often limited to only some types of plastics; and sometimes those plastics travel a long way to get to the facilities where they are broken down to be reused, which means that they use even more resources. So recycling is an option only some of the time and with only some plastic containers. At this point recycling is only a partial solution.

Any plastic that is not reused or recycled is going to end up in the garbage, wherever we go. And from wherever we leave it it may make its way to a garbage dump or into the water and to the sea, where it will continue to drift around until it ends up in the belly of some sea-creature or part of the plastic island in the Pacific. (See information on the plastic garbage island) We really hate to contribute to that.

At this point the best option seems to be to cut down as much as possible on buying goods and groceries packaged in plastic. In some cases, this means changing what we buy - bar soaps instead of liquid soap and shampoo, powdered detergent (phosphate free, of course) instead of liquid, and bar soap for hand washing clothes. Which means doing some research on different kinds of soaps and what they are best used for. In other cases, buying concentrated forms of products like cleaning liquids would help reduce the number of containers which are incidentally purchased along with them. In some cases making our own things is a help - making our own yogurt, for instance. And finding the things we need packaged in different ways may be an option too. The thought of doing some of our own canning is one we can explore, but the use of fuel and our need to purchase some of the equipment would make it an expensive endeavour.

Time to make a start - might as well start with learning more about soaps.