Why renting a boat is better for the environment and reducing the amount of plastic in the ocean.

Today more than ever it is obvious to us how important it is to care for our environment. At Click&Boat it is important to us that we do our bit to reduce water pollution and reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean.

Sailing, the holiday alternative. 

Sailing is a holiday alternative that can be a lot less damaging to the environment with very little effort. When you think of taking a holiday, what mode of transport do you think of first? Most likely, you immediately think of taking a flight. Perhaps you think of a road-trip. Either way, both of these involve burning massive amounts of fuel. Burning fuel releases greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide into the air that we breathe and the seas that we swim in. These same gasses prevent heat from escaping earth’s atmosphere, causing global warming.

We want to change this normality of taking a flight. For many, especially those living in Europe and close to coastlines, there are holiday alternatives that don’t pollute so much.

Avoid flying, start sailing…

According to the International Energy Agency, in 2017 humans added over 32 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere. Air travel contributes about 1 gigaton of this CO2 to the Earth’s atmosphere each year. While you can’t ask the world’s population to just stop flying completely, there are changes we can make to our habits.

You should always choose to fly on non-stop, direct flights. Taking off and ascending requires vast amounts of energy – significantly more than cruising at altitude. In other words, the less you take off, the better. You should also only choose to fly if your destination is a long distance away. From a scientific point of view, if your destination is less than 600 miles away, then choosing to travel by train or car is much more efficient. This is especially the case when there are more people in the car.

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Lined with beautiful and historic cities, it’s full of incredible islands. The Mediterranean Sea is less than a 600-mile drive or train journey from almost anywhere in Europe.

Once you arrive at your Mediterranean destination, instead of hiring a car for the week, you should consider renting a sailboat. Cars emit around 1 pound of CO2 every hour. Although they are more efficient than planes when it comes to travelling, we should try to rely on them less whilst actually on our holiday. Sailboats on the other hand are powered by the wind. Hoist your sails and allow mother nature to guide you to the next beach without releasing a single gram of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Keep our waters clean!

A sailboat adventure will give you a new appreciation for the sea. It is also important to make sure that you leave nothing behind. This can mean using reusable water bottles instead of plastic ones, or metal cutlery instead of plastic. It can also mean using sunscreen that specifically states that is it safe for the environment. Make sure you recycle as much of your waste as possible and leave places cleaner than when you found them.

Oceans cover about 70% of our Earth’s surface, and about 97% of all water on earth comes from our oceans. About 2% more is frozen up in glaciers and ice caps. We need to respect our oceans and seas if we want to continue benefiting from the beauty and life that they provide us.

At the end of 2020, Muriel from No Plastic In My Sea came to the Click&Boat HQ in Paris to educate us all on how to reduce water and plastic pollution. Founded by citizens, lovers of the sea and parents concerned about not leaving an environmental debt to their children, the association aims to fight against plastic pollution and its consequences on the marine ecosystem. We now all use reusable, Click&Boat branded water bottles as well as tote bags instead of disposable plastic bags. We want to do our bit to reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean.

“A boat cruise is a rare opportunity to connect with the beauty of nature. Unfortunately, the oceans and their biodiversity are threatened by plastic pollution. To preserve the beauty and balance of the marine ecosystem, it is essential to reduce our individual and collective consumption of plastic by at least 30%. Let’s start today so we can always enjoy our plastic-free seas tomorrow!” -Muriel, No Plastic In My Sea.