What do you throw overboard?

[Halcyon Yachts]

I am just back from a yacht delivery to France...

On route I noticed one of my crew was throwing his used chewing gum overboard. I suggested he use the bin (it is my belief that gum does not easily decompose and I imagine could harm marine life if consumed). I observed the same crew member putting all food waste in the bin; so everything from left over pasta to banana peel... We ended up having a big chat amongst ourselves as to what exactly should be disposed of overboard.

I realise that some will say nothing should be thrown over, but generally speaking my policy has always been that when more than a couple of miles off shore all food waste and glass can be ditched without causing harm. When hundreds of miles offshore (such as a Trans Atlantic) then metal cans etc can also be disposed of at sea. Plastic is never to be thrown over...

Where do you stand on this issue, and what do you do in practice?

Pete

 

[Athene V30]

Food waste when offshore. Tea pot gets emptied overboard anywhere as the tea leaves block the sink drain.

No plastic / tin or glass. All taken ashore.

French / Belgian and Dutch marinas are set up for recycling much better than in the UK.

 

[Woodlouse]

Since I don't really have the space aboard to store bags of trash offshore pretty much everything bar plastic goes over the side. I try by and large to adhere to MARPOL.

I tire quickly of people who tell me nothing should be deep sixed.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

The type of sailing I now allows all the gash to get bagged and binned. I used to dump glass, food and tins but as rule I don't anymore. I would not hesitate to dump that stuff again if I was on a longer passage and needed the space.

To my shame the worst things I have ever dumped over board were two huge 24V batteries. They were bought by an owner for a transatlantic delivery but the lights went out half way down the Irish Sea on the first night. So I got to Newlyn and bought some new batteries with the owners permission. After testing the old ones which showed they were duff, the owner insisted I store them as he wanted his money back from the seller (they were second hand). How this was to be achieved I hadn't considered at that time. After a bumpy Biscay crossing and sail down Lisbon the batteries were found to have broken loose from the bottom of the cockpit locker where they had been wedged in. I decided that they were a liability if we got knocked down so I dug them out and dropped them over the side.

 

[webcraft]

The type of sailing I now allows all the gash to get bagged and binned. I used to dump glass, food and tins but as rule I don't anymore. I would not hesitate to dump that stuff again if I was on a longer passage and needed the space.

To my shame the worst things I have ever dumped over board were two huge 24V batteries. They were bought by an owner for a transatlantic delivery but the lights went out half way down the Irish Sea on the first night. So I got to Newlyn and bought some new batteries with the owners permission. After testing the old ones which showed they were duff, the owner insisted I store them as he wanted his money back from the seller (they were second hand). How this was to be achieved I hadn't considered at that time. After a bumpy Biscay crossing and sail down Lisbon the batteries were found to have broken loose from the bottom of the cockpit locker where they had been wedged in. I decided that they were a liability if we got knocked down so I dug them out and dropped them over the side.

I know a man who has deep-sixed not one but two washing machines . . .

For ourselves, we wil finally be disposing of our ancient mouldering flares over the side this year, as all sensible attempts to find another solution have failed.

 

[Romeo]

Where do you stand on this issue, and what do you do in practice?

Fish and Pish.

I am never away from shore for long enough to make keeping gash a problem.

 

[capnsensible]

Since I don't really have the space aboard to store bags of trash offshore pretty much everything bar plastic goes over the side. I try by and large to adhere to MARPOL.

I tire quickly of people who tell me nothing should be deep sixed.

Agree. Have made a number of voyages over 3 weeks on yachts. To retain waste that's heaving in a tropical climate will be at a large health risk to the crew. Stand fast plastics.

It's better to arrive with no gash but all of your crew. Less fuss!

 

[jerrytug]

Anything edible (lots of hungry mouths waiting). All glass and metal (the planet is made of these substances).
No plastic or rope.
Sea toilet of course.
Try and avoid oily bilge water within reason although it would be a drop in the ocean compared to ships oily bilgewater etc!

 

[Ariadne]

Anything edible (lots of hungry mouths waiting). All glass and metal (the planet is made of these substances).
No plastic or rope.
Sea toilet of course.
Try and avoid oily bilge water within reason although it would be a drop in the ocean compared to ships oily bilgewater etc!

Yep, that's about what we do. If it's biodegradable (includes glass and tins, etc) then it goes over.

Big ships should have an oily water separator pump and can only pump over in minute PPMs. Although in practice they sort of forget this when offshore!

 

[lustyd]

I know a man who has deep-sixed not one but two washing machines . . .

For ourselves, we wil finally be disposing of our ancient mouldering flares over the side this year, as all sensible attempts to find another solution have failed.

Where are you based that's making it so difficult? If there's a marina nearby then get them to invite the bomb squad for a disposal day. At Emsworth they collected thousands of flares in a day. Dumping explosives over the side is one of the few things I would consider to be irresponsible since they could wash up somewhere for kids to find.

I'm happy with tins, glass, food, loud children etc going over the side but like others plastic is generally the point at which I'll tell someone off. Personally I don't throw much over since I'm either on a short trip or a big boat so either way bagging isn't a problem. Big to me is 30' plus

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Anything edible (lots of hungry mouths waiting). All glass and metal (the planet is made of these substances).
No plastic or rope.
Sea toilet of course.
Try and avoid oily bilge water within reason although it would be a drop in the ocean compared to ships oily bilgewater etc!

The planet is also made of nuclear material and other chemicals, but surly we draw the line on toxic waste?

I would never throw anything overboard that wouldn't decompose quickly, even if offshore. No glass, gum, plastic or whatever.

 

[lustyd]

The planet is also made of nuclear material and other chemicals, but surly we draw the line on toxic waste?

I would never throw anything overboard that wouldn't decompose quickly, even if offshore. No glass, gum, plastic or whatever.

Glass may not decompose but it's basically just a massive grain of sand so won't do anything to harm anything. Eventually it'll turn back into smaller bits of sand. Glass and metal actually make good homes for marine life, and the bigger they are the better for marine life. This is why ships are being sunk on purpose to make artificial reefs for diving

 

[LittleSister]

What do you throw overboard?

Hats (many and various); winch handle; cup; boathook; coins; keys; spanners; nuts, bolts, screws, and shackles; caution.

;-)

 

[lenseman]

What do you throw overboard?

Hats (many and various); winch handle; cup; boathook; coins; keys; spanners; nuts, bolts, screws, and shackles; caution.

;-)

And any crew that disagree with the Captain.



.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

The planet is also made of nuclear material and other chemicals, but surly we draw the line on toxic waste?

I would never throw anything overboard that wouldn't decompose quickly, even if offshore. No glass, gum, plastic or whatever.

Agreed.
I'm genuinely surprised to hear that many are relaxed about bunging glass and metal over the side.
On a long offshore passage maybe but, for me, not inshore or on a Channel crossing

 

[NormanS]

Although our cruising is coastal, it tends to be away from civilised facilities, like waste disposal. Anything burnable is consumed in flames in occasional fires on the shore, below the HW mark. Cans, punctured and "deep stored".

 

[nigelmercier]

What do you throw overboard?

Hats (many and various); winch handle; cup; boathook; coins; keys; spanners; nuts, bolts, screws, and shackles; caution. ...

All that, and my mate's iPhone.

 

[alan_d]

Food waste when offshore. Tea pot gets emptied overboard anywhere as the tea leaves block the sink drain.

Unless you have a grey-water holding tank, tipping the tealeaves down the sink or overboard would amount to the same thing ....

 

[prv]

Never done any yacht voyages long enough to preclude taking all gash ashore. Similarly, such voyages are mostly in coastal waters where marpol says no dumping anything. Only thing I tend to send overboard is liquid food (soup, gravy, custard, etc) left in the saucepan after dinner. Small bin bags, each one tied up after dinner each day, then all stored together in a big tough outer bag. Admittedly haven't figured out yet where this will go on the new boat. Possibly the anchor locker?

On a longer voyage I would probably follow the old marpol rules (I hear they have become a lot more restrictive in the last year) I'm used to from Stavros. Can't remember the exact details and distances, but basically nothing close inshore, food waste after a few miles, wood/paper/tins/glass/etc off the continental shelf, plastic absolutely never.

Biggest thing I've ever known dumped was an entire vacuum toilet - proportions roughly the same as a domestic one. The lugs that bolted it down had broken off during rough weather, so no way of refitting it. The Assistant Engineer scavenged all the valves and working parts off it, then they had a little "burial at sea" ceremony and consigned the porcelain to the deep . That would have been between Gibraltar and the Azores, or somewhere like that, well into the "ocean" disposal zone. I've personally thrown smashed plywood furniture overboard (garbage disposal is Deckhands' job), but we were careful to hang onto any bits that had plastic veneers.

Pete

 

[prv]

I'm genuinely surprised to hear that many are relaxed about bunging glass and metal over the side.
On a long offshore passage maybe but, for me, not inshore or on a Channel crossing

+1

I believe the marpol rules make special mention of the Channel, and treat it as a closer zone regardless of actual distance, because of the number of ships passing through and the fact that it's relatively (on an oceanic scale) confined water.

Pete