Peeing in the sea/marina

[Zen Zero]

Ah here we are:

Turkey
Discharge of any kind may be considered illegal. A black water tank has therefore been a practical necessity in Turkey for many years. New rules have been coming into force in some areas of Turkey (such as the Mugla District) over the last few years which require vessels to carry a Blue Card. If the rules are enforced to the full all black and grey water will need to be collected and pumped out ashore; the Blue Card will be used to monitor the amount of waste water deposited ashore to ensure holding tanks are pumped out rather than emptied into the sea.

from here: http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatingabroad/pages/holdingtanks.aspx

 

[chinita]

I used to sail with a mate on an Army boat in the Baltic. He would hold it in until a German boat approached from the opposite direction. He would then jump up to the side deck, hang on to the shrouds and let rip with his considerable 'baby's arm'. As he waved to the passing crew, they would wave back - until they realised what was going on.

Hilarious. Serves 'em right.:encouragement:

 

[Davegriff]

Unless you are southern water
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/23/southern-water-fined-sewage

Interestingly, after several untreated discharges, and to quote the Guardian:

"...although the company had failed to operate within its environmental permit, Margate beaches continued to meet European quality standards... Importantly, the majority of beaches in the Margate area continue to have water quality sufficient to meet the blue flag standards and all meet European standards..."

Can't see how a bit of pee could do any harm.

 

[SHUG]

What a wonderful spectacle...... when peeing in clear Scottish waters....... when the phosphorescence illuminates the entire stream of pee.
An experience not to be missed and the "highlight" of many West Coast cruises. (Then wash your hands!)

 

[Slave11]

I went to buy a toilet for my boat and was asked what's wrong with bucket and chuck it lol

 

[JumbleDuck]

....and not one single contributor has stated they wash their hands after urinating over the side. But then if you are all so lazy as to not use the heads, what are we to expect. Obviously no-one considers personal hygene a priority. It is a well known fact that very few people wash their hands after relieving themselves and I find it discusting to think what they subsequently handle (including food preparation) and gets passed on to me. It does not - and will not happen on my boat.

Some of us have learned not to pee on our hands.

 

[abraxus]

....and not one single contributor has stated they wash their hands after urinating over the side. But then if you are all so lazy as to not use the heads, what are we to expect. Obviously no-one considers personal hygene a priority. It is a well known fact that very few people wash their hands after relieving themselves and I find it discusting to think what they subsequently handle (including food preparation) and gets passed on to me. It does not - and will not happen on my boat.

My girlfriend asked me once about washing my hands and food preparation, but when I pointed out that it didn't seem to bother her when hands and food were removed as the middlemen, she let the subject go.

 

[Rock Dodger]

A little tale: Some years ago I had a septic tank installed at my house. The tank collects all effluent and partially digests it before a soakaway puts the rest of it in to the soil where the bacteria break it down completely. The man that put it in told me that they did not install them in pubs because the urine part of the effluent can contain as much as 30% alcohol which inhibits the breakdown by bacteria. Instead they had to install cess pools which have to be pumped out when they fill up.

So, if you have a good night ashore and then pee over the side in the marina, it may explain why crabs walk sideways.

 

[Robert Wilson]

A little tale: Some years ago I had a septic tank installed at my house. The tank collects all effluent and partially digests it before a soakaway puts the rest of it in to the soil where the bacteria break it down completely. The man that put it in told me that they did not install them in pubs because the urine part of the effluent can contain as much as 30% alcohol which inhibits the breakdown by bacteria. Instead they had to install cess pools which have to be pumped out when they fill up.

So, if you have a good night ashore and then pee over the side in the marina, it may explain why crabs walk sideways.

 

[catmandoo]

Urine mixed with sea water seems to produce crystals of urea salts which I understand is a fertiliser so the only effect might be to cause algae blooms and the like in the marina

One time I did notice a bit of poo from an adjacent boat being attacked by a shoal of small fish so I suppose like the magpies in my old street in glasgow who found dog poo appetising, some creature still has a use for it . I did afterward put a cup over our milk bottles though

Ah, but let's continue with the hypothesising. If those three hundred boat are on average 10m x 3m, and cover about one third of the water surface in the marina, the total area will be 300 x 30 x 3 = 27,000 m^2, and two 6m tides a day means that 27,000 x 2 x 6 = 324,000 cubic metres of water per day are coming in to and then going out of the marina. That's a shade over seventy million gallons, and means that even with 3 people per yacht relieving themselves, urine would make up only 0.00042% of the water coming out the marina.

In any case, urine is sterile and generally harmless stuff. You can drink it if you're so inclined, in which case the main hazard is the relatively high level of sodium, which is pretty irrelevant when it's being diluted 240,000:1 by sea water. In many parts of the world human urine is used as a safe and effective fertiliser.

 

[MASH]

Why is there such a widespread feeling that hands must be washed after having a pee and that failure to do so is somehow disgusting?

Do many people culture filthy unwashed willies? It would be strange if they did, we tend to wash all over rather than selectively. As someone else said most of us manage it without peeing on our fingers, even so urine is sterile and harmless. Hands surely get far more contaminated on a daily basis than willies (that should give rise to some banter!) , so shouldn't we be really washing them first?

Or is this a hangover of Victorian disgust at ones private parts?

 

[Robert Wilson]

Urine mixed with sea water seems to produce crystals of urea salts which I understand is a fertiliser so the only effect might be to cause algae blooms and the like in the marina

One time I did notice a bit of poo from an adjacent boat being attacked by a shoal of small fish so I suppose like the magpies in my old street in glasgow who found dog poo appetising, some creature still has a use for it . I did afterward put a cup over our milk bottles though

Surely the dogs didn't poo on your milk bottles, did they?...........................................

 

[DannyB]

IIRC, the original outbreak of typhoid was caused by dodgy corned beef from Argentina .

Only in Aberdeen could one tin of corned beef give 400 people typhoid.

 

[Spyro]

Some of us have learned not to pee on our hands.

That's what I was thinking. If I go and have a scratch or re-arrangement I don't rush off and wash my hands. I usually tell my wife "it's a text book example of personal hygene down there"

On the subject of number 2s in the sea I remember when sailing in the med seeing a number 2 dischared over the side from the heads. There was a feeding frenzy of fish around it. Not sure what type they were but It made me think twice about eating fish that night.

 

[MM5AHO]

....and not one single contributor has stated they wash their hands after urinating over the side. But then if you are all so lazy as to not use the heads, what are we to expect. Obviously no-one considers personal hygene a priority. It is a well known fact that very few people wash their hands after relieving themselves and I find it discusting to think what they subsequently handle (including food preparation) and gets passed on to me. It does not - and will not happen on my boat.

This raises an interesting point.
If urine is harmless, and can be drunk (if so inclined), then what is the handwashing doing? Why do hands need washing after urinating? Is it that a penis is dirty rather the risk of getting urine on the hands?
And do you wash hands before adjusting clothing or after? If afterwards, then did the clothing get contaminated by whatever we were meant to wash off?

 

[Stemar]

In public toilets, I tend not to wash my hands after a pee 'cos I reckon Willy's a hellava lot cleaner than anything in the bog - including the tap & soap dispenser.

As an aside, why the hell do the doors to public toilets always open inwards? That means my clean hands have to grab hold of something all the dirty buggers who didn't wash after a dump have smeared with their fecal bacteria.

 

[RupertW]

As an aside, why the hell do the doors to public toilets always open inwards? That means my clean hands have to grab hold of something all the dirty buggers who didn't wash after a dump have smeared with their fecal bacteria.

This is one of the moment when somebody finally says exactly what you have been internally shouting for years. I work in hospitals and often have to use a patient/visitor's loo. The loos flush automatically so you don't have to touch them. The taps are infrared as are the soap dispensers. The dryers use air. At the end of all of that (and seeing a couple of people go straight from cubicle to door) you have to grab a sticky or wet (or both) door handle to get out. Ugh.

A few weeks at a new hospital and I would find myself missing a few days work with a stomach bug. In the last few years I seem to be immune to almost everything even when Norovirus is rampant. Perhaps the only place that should have sticky handles, no soap and a manky old single towel is schools - that way children will get immunity again and not be so prone to asthma and allergies.

 

[fireball]

At a campsite I had to wait in line to empty our toilet cassette (that's a nice experience ... emptying that is, not the waiting) .. the chap in front came from an adjacent campsite (run by the same organisation) and explained that he came here because the othersite had little water pressure so it was unhygienic when emptying and rinsing his cassette ...

Now, I don't like to think the cassette we use is filthy, but I do wash my hands having emptied it and wouldn't consider touching it then not washing afterwards, but surely the inside is going to contain **** no matter how much you rinse it, so "hygienic" rinse or not it's still dirty!

Anyway, he didn't think much of my suggestion that he was actually a toilet cassette emptying service so I had to do our myself ...

 

[maby]

I was under the impression that urine is only "self-sterile" - you cannot make yourself ill by contact with your own urine because you already have immunity to any bugs in it. That is not necessarily true of someone else - we should be discouraging contact with each other's wee...

 

[prv]

I was under the impression that urine is only "self-sterile" - you cannot make yourself ill by contact with your own urine because you already have immunity to any bugs in it. That is not necessarily true of someone else - we should be discouraging contact with each other's wee...

Nope - in a healthy person, urine is sterile as it comes out. My (non-medical) understanding is that everything in it comes out of the blood, having passed across membranes in the kidneys, and healthy blood contains no bacteria. Hence the suggestion of using it to clean out wounds in extreme situations.

Presumably it provides a nice environment for bacteria to grow in, so quickly becomes contaminated once passed, hence stale urine is not good stuff to be around.

Pete