Our natural environment is under pressure. From plastic pollution and fuel emissions to chemical runoff, over fishing, and unsustainable consumption, the challenges are vast.

Living on the water means cruisers often get a front row seat to this, and for many that leaves an impact.

While sailing is often seen as one of the more eco-friendly ways to travel, being under sail doesn’t automatically mean you’re low impact. Fortunately there are some small, intentional changes you can make that are relatively easy to do but can have a big impact.

Whether you’re living aboard full-time or cruising seasonally, here are nine practical ways to reduce your environmental footprint out on the water.

1. Reduce engine emissions

Even on a sailboat, the engines tend to get regular use. They’re turned on when the boat is becalmed or manoeuvres need to be made for anchoring, mooring or docking. On some boats they’re a way to charge the battery bank or generate hot water. Then there’s the outboards, that power the tenders cruisers rely on for their daily transport needs.

A poorly maintained engine or an engine experiencing low fuel efficiency consumes more fuel. Increased fuel consumption leads to higher emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants, which is not good for the environment. By ensuring your motors are well maintained and consuming fuel as they should, you save money on gas or diesel, and it’s better for the environment.

Practical actions to reduce engine emissions

1. Keep up with your engine servicing including oil changes and fuel filter replacements
2. Choose a propeller that optimizes your engine’s efficiency
3. Keep the hull clean to reduce drag in the water and load on the engine
4. Consider electric population for your tender
5. Factor in tides and currents when route planning, as fighting against them requires the engines to operate at a higher RPM

2. Cut down on single use plastics

No matter where you sail, there’s no doubt you’ve seen the unwelcome sight of plastic waste floating in the water. Plastic pollution is one of the most visible threats to sea life, with an estimated 100,000 marine mammals dying each year from ingestion and entanglement. Then there’s microplastics, which form when larger items break down and are extremely difficult to filter out. These are inadvertently consumed by sea creatures, and eventually end up in the human food chain.

Cutting down on single use plastics, is one way to decrease your plastic consumption, and reduce the chance that it ends up somewhere you’d rather it doesn’t. This is especially true when cruising in remote or under-developed areas where recycling facilities are non-existent.

Practical ways to reduce single use plastics aboard

1. Carry reusable shopping bags and mesh produce sacks when grocery shopping
2. Avoid shrink-wrapped or individually packaged items when provisioning, and choose eggs in cardboard cartons
3. Buy items like dish washing liquid, pasta, rice, flour and legumes in bulk, then repackage them into smaller reusable containers
4. Choose biodegradable trash bags
5. Set aside the cling wrap and Ziploc bags, and try re-usable containers, beeswax wraps, silicone lids, glass jars, food huggers and silicone storage bags

3. Choose to shop local

Local markets offer more than just a cultural experience; they’re often the best place to reduce waste while supporting the economy you’re visiting. Imported supermarket goods tend to come over-packaged and travel long distances to reach the shelves. Shopping locally helps reduce transportation emissions and avoids much of the unnecessary packaging that accompanies mass-produced food.

Practical shopping tips to reduce waste

1. Buy fresh meat, produce, dairy, and baked goods from local markets
2. Support regional farmers and small vendors, reducing the length of the supply chain
3. Choose loose items over pre-packaged ones
4. Bring your own bags, containers, and jars to refill where possible
5. Go for bulk items to reduce packaging

4. Use eco-friendly cleaning and personal care products

On a boat, the soaps, detergents and care products used to clean dishes, wash clothes, scrub the hull and maintain your personal hygiene all go overboard. The problem with this; many common products contain harmful ingredients like phosphates, chlorine and microplastics, which don’t break down easily in the ocean.

These chemicals damage marine ecosystems and can persist in the water for years. Phosphates in particular are an issue, and they can cause algal blooms which deplete the water of oxygen, suffocating marine life. Minimizing your impact takes a little thought, but the benefits are worth it.

Practical ways to switch to eco-friendly options

1. Choose biodegradable and phosphate-free boat soaps, detergents and shampoos
2. Use vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice as natural cleaning alternatives
3. Consider solid shampoo bars and refillable cleaning products to reduce packaging
4. Avoid products like toothpaste with polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as these are microplastics
5. Switch chlorine bleach for hydrogen peroxide

5. Dispose of waste thoughtfully

When cruising remote coastlines or small islands, waste disposal options can be minimal. When crossing an ocean, they’re non-existent. While it may be tempting to burn rubbish, bury it ashore or toss it overboard, are those really the best solutions? We all know burning plastics releases harmful toxins, while dumping directly endangers sea life. Instead, try to manage your waste proactively.

Practical ways to manage waste

1. Separate recyclables, then bring them to proper facilities when you can
2. Salt water rinse food packaging to prevent smells while storing aboard
3. Only organics overboard, and even then, only when you’re offshore well away from coastlines
4. Reduce packaging from the outset to avoid bringing the problem onboard in the first place
5. Cut up and compact trash to reduce the amount of space it takes up while storing for a disposal facility

6. Mind your antifouling

All cruisers are familiar with antifouling paint; it keeps marine growth off the hull and improves sailing performance, which in turn reduces engine emissions. But many traditional antifouling paints use copper and other biocides that leach into the water, harming not just fouling organisms but the broader marine ecosystem.

As time goes on, new antifouling methods and chemicals are being developed that are more environmentally friendly. Some cruisers are now experimenting with hard epoxy coatings, foul-release coating, or ultrasonic antifouling systems as non-toxic alternatives.

Practical ways to reduce the environmental impact of antifoul

1. Investigate alternative antifouling technologies like ultrasonic antifouling, foul release-coating or hard coatings that reduce leaching
2. When removing old antifouling, wet sand it or use a vacuum sander to prevent releasing particles into the air
3. Use a tarpaulin to catch antifoul scrapings, especially if you’re using paint stripper to get it off
4. Dispose of the antifouling tins, paint trays, brushes and rollers responsibly
5. Regularly clean your hull to minimise the need for aggressive antifouling products

7. Be energy smart

Modern cruising yachts rely on power for everything from refrigeration to lights and navigation electronics. But when that energy is generated using generators or the engines, the environmental cost adds up. Even solar panels and batteries have embodied emissions to consider. Investing in renewable sources and finding ways to reduce load can go a long way towards a more environmentally friendly existence.

Practical ways to be energy smart aboard

1. Invest in solar panels, wind turbines, or hydro-generators
2. Use energy-efficient appliances and unplug them to stop phantom loads
3. Monitor energy use with a battery management system to avoid overcharging
4. Charge devices and run power-hungry systems during peak power generation times
5. Switch to LED lighting, LiFePO4 lithium batteries, and energy efficient air conditioners and hot water units.

8. Respect local ecosystems

It can be easy to overlook the environmental impact of where you drop anchor or how you explore ashore, especially if you’re tired after a long, hard sail. But, as cruisers we have a responsibility to respect local ecosystems and do what we can to preserve and maintain them. The places we visit are part of what makes sailing special; it’s only fair we leave them as we found them.

Practical ways to support the ecosystem

1. Anchor in sandy patches, avoiding coral and sea grass (especially posidonia in the Med)
2. Follow local regulations around fishing, diving, marine parks and coastal access
3. Leave no trace behind
4. Engage with local initiatives like beach clean ups, eco-tours or conservation programs, for example the Vava’u SMA’s
5. Where possible, paddle to shore instead of using the tender

Reduce the impact now for a more sustainable future

Protecting our natural environment is a shared responsibility, and sailors have a unique role to play. With every provisioning choice, engine service, or anchoring decision, we shape the health of the marine environment we rely on.

Got your own green cruising tips? Be sure to share them with the wider NFL community down below so we can start a discussion and generate ideas, working together for a better outcome.