Sailing clubs encouraged to keep their waters clean

The Green Blue had a fantastic weekend at the Dinghy Sailing Show at Alexandra Palace this year. Displaying as part of the RYA stand, staff were kept busy talking to numerous visitors about the project, answering their questions and offering advice about how to keep their sailing and sailing clubs green.

The Green Blue joined forces with the Marine Conservation Society to produce a joint display encouraging sailing clubs to get involved with their Adopt-A-Beach and Beachwatch surveys. These hugely successful campaigns against beach and marine litter have been running since 1993, involving thousands of volunteers in beach cleans and litter surveys every year. Read more......

Visit the Adopt-A-Beach website for more information and to request an application pack

Is your business a climate champion?

It is now widely accepted that climate change is a reality and its consequences will have a huge impact on our lives. These could include sea level rise and increased storminess so the effects are bound to be felt by coastal communities and marine based businesses. The good news is that there are steps that all businesses, regardless of size, can take to reduce their carbon footprint and therefore the contribution they make to climate change.

UK Small and medium enterprises (SME's) spend around six billion pounds on energy every year and produce about 10.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Thirty per cent or £1.8 billion of this is wasted.There are many opportunities in the workplace to reduce this level of energy consumption and wastage and to encourage companies to do so a new scheme called Business Climate Champions has been launched.

Read More........

Robin Knox-Johnston's talks about his experiences of climate change

Veteran round-the-world yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has seen many amazing sights since he sailed into the record books 39 years ago as the first person to sail single-handed, non-stop, around the world. And he is one of the few people that have a unique perspective of the ways in which the natural environment has, and continues to alter because of climate change.

Sir Robin is currently on his way to Norfolk, USA, from Fremantle, Australia, in his sixty-foot, single-hull ocean racer 'Saga Insurance' circumnavigating the globe in the Velux 5 Oceans race, which started from Bilbao, on the Biscay coast of Spain, last October.

One of the first things the intrepid 68-year-old yachtsman noticed on that first leg was how the weather seemed to be a little warmer than he remembered...... find out more

Take the pledge and become a Business Climate Champion

Follow our cruising log

The Green Blue has been following the cruising yacht, Mithril as she completes a circumnavigation. Her owners Geraldine and Peter have been sending us regular log entries reporting on the wildlife and environmental issues that they encounter during their trip.

Last update we featured chapter one of their log, catch up with the next part of their journey below.

Read chapter two of Mithril's cruising log as they talk about their amazing whale encounters

'Slip slip hooray!' This months energy saving tip

Over the coming months, boat maintenance and repairs will be taking place all over the country in preparation for the long awaited summer. These activities will include surface cleaning, sanding, washing, scraping, painting, as well as replacing old and tired equipment on the boat such as cleats, winches etc. As well as all this, many boat owners choose to change their oil, dispose of batteries, and carry out maintenance that can produce other toxic materials.

As boat owners you will very possibly use products such as soaps, solvents, cleaners and polishes to get your boat looking and running as well as possible for the summer season. However a number of the products used to achieve this will contain chemicals such as ammonia, phosphates, chlorine, hydrocarbons, and other harmful ingredients that are hazardous to humans as well as the aquatic environment.

There are a number of actions you can take to reduce your effect on the aquatic environment while working on your boat. One such idea is to thoroughly wax your hull at the start of the season. This helps protect the hull from the fading effects of the sun's UV rays and salt water whilst also helping towards reducing fuel efficiency. A smoothly waxed hull will glide through the water creating less drag which in turn reduces the quantity of fuel used per trip, saving you money and cutting down the amount of Carbon Dioxide released into the environment. A well waxed hull should also avoid the need for continuous cleaning throughout the summer, giving you less work and preventing yet more chemicals from entering the aquatic environment.

Previous energy saving tips

The Green Blue appoints a Regional Officer for Wales

The Green Blue has now appointed a Project Coordinator dedicated to delivering the project that has been so successful in England to Wales. Ruth Sharratt has taken on this role and will be based at the home of the Welsh Yachting Association (WYA) at Plas Menai. This itself is located in a fantastic position overlooking the Menai Strait which is a proposed Special Area of Conservation and demonstrates the important balance that must be met between recreational boating and the environment.

Sailing and boating is a popular and growing activity in Wales. With some of the most beautiful coast in the UK and a rich marine biodiversity it is important that our activities do not damage this area. Following The Green Blue messages will help ensure that growth in the recreational marine sector is sustainable and and does not compromise the wonderful coastline and wildlife which makes it so enjoyable.

To help spread these messages, Ruth will be visiting many clubs, marinas and marine businesses in Wales. You may wish to get in touch to let us know how your club or business has taken the initiative and made your activities more environmentally friendly or you may want help to go Green, or become more Green.   So if you have some good ideas, want to tell us what you are doing or want Ruth to come and talk to your WYA club, training centre or business about the Green Blue then contact The Green Blue in Wales.

Email The Green Blue Wales

Competition
Win a heavy duty can crusher!

This can crusher can be wall mounted, comes complete with wall plugs & screws and crushes drinks cans upto 500ml into discs. Make recycling easir in your workplace, sailing club or home.

Q. How long does an aluminium take to degrade in the water?
Need a clue?

info@thegreenblue.org.uk