‘Sustainable Sailing’ was a term that I coined about five years ago when I was writing for SisterShip, a women’s sailing magazine out of Australia. After submitting a few articles to the recently revived publication, I asked if they’d be interested in me writing a regular column that addressed issues of sustainability across all aspects of sailing. Shelley, the Editor accepted my proposal and over the next two years I wrote with the goal of both raising awareness and providing advice about what we can all do to live more sustainably.

The other day, in a bid to jog my memory about what exactly I wrote about, I re-read several of my articles.

I have to say I am impressed that I tackled so many aspects of what sustainable sailing could be. I advocated for people to learn sustainable skills and to practice greener habits in the boatyard. I talked about setting sustainable goals and giving greener gifts. I also tackled issues like how to reduce food waste and being conscious about the unseen waste from our use of everyday electronics.

My last Sustainable Sailing article was published in 2022 due to the untimely end of SisterShip Magazine. An yet, four years later I am still grappling with the same problems. So, I thought I might revive the series here, hoping that it will not only help me, but perhaps help someone on the other side of the screen too.

What does sustainable sailing really mean?

That’s a question that I have been considering for the past few weeks. At the beginning of the very first published article I wrote.

“According to the Oxford English Dictionary something is sustainable when it can ‘be maintained at a certain rate or level.’ In an environmental context, being sustainable is the capacity for the human civilization to exist, in harmony, with the biosphere without depleting natural resources beyond regeneration. Living in our modern, technological world it is sometimes difficult to find that equilibrium.”

It’s that equilibrium that I’ve been having problems with lately.

Don’t get me wrong, I think our life onboard is quite balanced

….at least when you look at the big picture. But day-to-day things can often feel like it is all or nothing, and that state of equanimity can feel quite mutinous at times.

After months of intense work in the boatyard, the last of the do to list is still waiting to get finished because we are finding it difficult to muster the enthusiasm. The weather has swung from days of continuous rain to a week of near heat wave temperatures. A family health scare, someone running up fraudulent transactions on my credit card in Paris, the news making it feel like the world it is hurtling, uncontrollably, toward total destruction.  

While this constant cycle of sublime and ridiculous will balance out in the end, while we are in the thick of things it feels precarious. In fact last week, that “everything is spiralling beyond my control” feeling was beginning to feel like it was taking me with it. On Friday morning Steve asked if I was ok, and although I said I was fine, I realized that if those around me are starting to notice that I am unsettled then perhaps I am not as unaffected by things as I thought. Thankfully, I woke on Saturday with a solution.

They say a change is as good as a rest.

So, I suggested that we completely change our scenery by renting a motorbike and riding up to the Tip of Borneo where there are white sand beaches and clear blue water and little chance of crocodiles (well, at least that’s what I am choosing to believe).

Steve called the rental guy and made all the arrangements and I got to work on the picnic basket. By 1030 we were sweating through our jeans, the wind whistling in our cheap rental helmets, as we wound our way though the back roads towards the most northern point on the island.

We were lucky that the beach was mostly empty, and luckier still that the tide was low enough that we could walk to the farthest corner, almost out of site of the family who was setting up for lunch. With a buffer of distance, we were free to sit in our swim suits, cold beverage in hand enjoying the view.

I have always found the ocean a balm, but I forget how different living on it is from being immersed in it. There is a sense of calm that washes over me whenever I am suspended in salt water. Its as if my body is low on some essential element and via osmosis my cells are being replenished. While being held in the rhythm of the sea my body once again beings vibrating at the correct frequency.

As the afternoon wore on, the sun got hotter and tide began to rise.

We decided that another change of scenery was called for, so we brushed off the sand, pulled on our jeans and hopped back on the bike to see if we could once again find ‘Secret Beach,’ a cute little restaurant and camping spot nestled amongst some casuarina pines further down the way.

After a brief ride in the wrong direction (we are blaming that on some road construction disguising our turn off) we found ourselves once again staring at the endless blue horizon, sipping a cold Tiger beer while we waited for our wood fired pizza to arrive.

When we arrived home close to dusk, sunburnt and sandy, I realized that I didn’t want my lovely sense of calm to swept away by anxiety over things I can’t control so I suggested that we not watch the evening news, as has become our habit. The next morning I woke feeling quite at ease and decided not to look online until after I finished yoga. Over coffee Steve and I decided that our break from our everyday routine was probably as beneficial as our break from the doom and gloom known as world news. And that we should probably make both a more regular habit.

At the end of that first Sustainable Sailing article I wrote the following:

“Like the story of any epic sailing adventure, the journey to sustainable sailing is a long haul. One that is fraught with breakages, and jury rigs, and occasionally going in the wrong direction. One full of highs and lows, perfect days and stormy nights. A journey where no matter how skilled and knowledgeable you are, there is always a new challenge or something new to learn.”

Or maybe re-learn.

If you are interested in reading some of those old articles please let me know and I’ll start posting them here. For now, might I suggest turning off your device and staring at the horizon for a while. Icy, cold beverage highly recommended.

Love,
H&S