Thank you to the 195 BCA members who completed our Responsible Cruising Survey! The response rate of 36% is excellent for a survey like this. It’s clear from the responses that you’re concerned about the effects of climate change on the oceans and on how you cruise, and that you’re taking many deliberate actions to reduce the effects of your cruising on the environment and the communities you visit. Your input is helping the Environmentally and Socially Responsible Cruising (ESRC) working group target our efforts to the areas of greatest interest and concern to our members. Below is a summary of the key results, and for more detail click here.
Levels of Concern
Over 75% of the respondents were very or quite concerned about how climate change is affecting our oceans, 60% are very or quite concerned about how climate change is affecting where, when and how they travel, and almost 50% of the respondents are very or quite concerned about the effects cruising boats and related activities have on the environment. ESRC is committed to helping BCA members learn what they can do to be more environmentally responsible, and many of the comments and suggestions were helpful to this goal.
Actions Taken by Members
There are many actions taken by respondents to reduce the impact of their cruising on the environment. Over 70% of them maintain a clean hull to minimize drag, used a holding tank or composting toilet in all anchorages and communities, installed renewable sources of energy, travelled with the tides and currents, used eco-friendly materials for cleaning and personal products, motored more slowly and at fuel-efficient speeds, and reduced/eliminated use of plastics and non-reuseable containers. The level of awareness and willingness to adapt and reduce environmental impact was great to see. Mention was made of the Free Range Ocean initiative, to provide boaters with access to more information on citizen science projects and ocean data collection opportunities. Participation by BCA members in this initiative would be both educational and impactful.
Signs of Change Observed
We asked what signs of ecological and climate change are being observed while cruising. The most frequent responses were: more severe and unpredictable weather events, including heat domes and atmospheric rivers; extended and less predictable hurricane seasons; less rain, more drought and warmer temperatures. Other environmental concerns included: smoke and haze from forest fires; warmer sea temperatures bleaching coral reefs; fewer fish; more red tides and algae blooms; species range shifts; and sadly, more plastics and trash as well as fuel leakages in our harbours, oceans and anchorages.
Impact of Boaters on Communities
Though the results showed that there wasn’t as high a concern for the impact of boaters on the communities visited, over 70% of respondents reported that they do take action to reduce negative impact or to help support communities visited including: minimized the garbage disposed of in local communities; reduced use of water from local sources; and learned about and respected local culture. One member established a complete garbage removal infrastructure in El Salvador, which included education and climate change awareness.
What Respondents Want to Know More About
Over half the respondents wanted to know more about: environmentally friendly boating paints and supplies, with perhaps a preferred vendor list for sustainable products; concerns of both offshore and coastal BC communities about the impact of cruising and how we can better support or assist these communities; and more information about the impact of larger vessels, especially power vessels on our environments. The need for more pump-out stations was also mentioned several times. BCA will address these and other topics via articles in Currents, the website, and speakers at club nights, which were identified as your preferred methods of learning.
Final Comments
We received many positive comments about the survey and BCA’s environmentally and socially responsible cruising initiative, as well as some suggestions about how the survey could have been improved. Respondents provided many other comments, including concern that BCA not shift away from the primary focus of helping people achieve their offshore sailing dreams. As outlined in BCA’s ESRC Pledge, we aspire to be recognized in the cruising community for pursuing our dreams of ocean cruising while demonstrating excellence in our ability to sail clean, green and socially aware.
Anyone interested in helping out with more initiatives or sharing ideas, please email us.
Currents PDFs
That climate change, driven by human activity, is happening all around us is undeniable. Scientists have been clear on the fundamental mechanisms since around the 1960s. Consensus on the need for action should be clear to all but the most recalcitrant climate deniers.
That said… while all of us, as individuals, have our “carbon footprint” I believe we should, as we take what personal actions we can, not lose site of where the real impacts can be made – in industry and transportation.
Here is a little “back o the envelope” calculation:
Consider the impact of one freighter traveling one way across the Pacific. A rough google search says a freighter can consume 286,400 litres of fuel per day and will take 15-30 days to cross the Pacific. Taking the minimum time, to be conservative, that yields 4,296,000 litres of fuel consumed bringing us a boat load of cheap goods from China to be sold at Walmart.
Last summer I guesstimate we burned 400 litres of diesel for propulsion and heating while coastal cruising.
Some of us in BCA may use more, some may use less – I don’t claim my use is typical but given that consumption I would have to live over 10,000 years to equal the fuel consumed by ONE freighter trip across the Pacific.
We can and should do what we can as individuals to limit our climate change impact but while we congratulate ourselves in doing so we can’t lose sight that real necessary impacts must come from forcing governments to force industry to make significant changes.
As consumers we also have choices. Buy locally, reduce consumption of unnecessary products and work to educate ourselves and others. Ultimately, the consumer has the power. If we can all take small steps, it will add up.