Global warming is all over the media, especially when yet another natural disaster hits, which is more and more frequently.
The public shows concern and agrees that something should be done to save the planet – energy saved, more sustainable sources developed to generate electricity. But for many people these resolutions remain theoretical – held at a distance.
They expect politicians, large companies and activists to tackle these problems. Of course, global issues must be addressed on a global scale by those in charge, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to make life a bit easier for mother earth in the meantime.
As cruisers, we are more aware of our energy consumption than average landlubbers, since we depend on our own, limited resources. Battery monitors, fuel and water level indicators show plainly how much energy we produce and use each day, so a responsible approach to resource management and a general awareness of environmental issues is usual on most cruising yachts. Even ashore, cruisers wince whenever they watch landlubbers absentmindedly leave the water running – if you were used to the backbreaking work of lugging freshwater in jerry cans and heaving them aboard, you’d understand why.
However, whenever we stay in a busy anchorage, we are amazed to see how many cruisers still rely on diesel or petrol generators. On a grey day, generators start roaring on one boat after another, but with such a variety of alternative energy sources available at reasonable cost, it seems antiquated to add to pollution by burning long-dead dinosaurs.
We planned right from the start to go for an environmentally friendly cruiser lifestyle and equipped our S&S 41 Pitufa accordingly. She has never had a diesel or petrol generator. Our 12-volt watermaker runs off battery power with an inverter for AC power tools, household devices and chargers.
We have noted that cruisers who start with one AC appliance (a big watermaker, say) which they had planned to run once a week, tend to quickly add more AC gadgets – washing machine, dish washer, espresso machine, etc. – because the ‘generator is running anyway’. They don’t seem to realise that each machine adds to their fuel consumption.
Other cruisers motor a lot as ‘they need to charge the batteries anyway.’ It’s all about habits of course, but we don’t feel our low-carbon-footprint philosophy makes our lives harder or less pleasant. On the contrary: tacking across a lagoon is more fun that motoring into the wind and somehow, water made by sunrays seems to taste better than water made by diesel.
On Pitufa a wind generator and 600 watts worth of solar panels supply all the energy required for our LED lights, a fridge (no freezer), a watermaker, two laptops and our electronic navigational gear. Only during prolonged, cloudy periods do we have to cut back – turn the fridge a few degrees warmer and read a book instead of watching a film – but these are small inconveniences compared to running a droning, fuming, fuelwasting generator.
We are now considering switching to lithium batteries, but even then, we won’t install a freezer. Buying seasonally and locally has become a habit, just like making preserves instead of freezing fish, vegetables and fruit. We don’t feel like we’re missing out on anything.
A MIX OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES
With just a wind generator and 100 Watts of solar power, we gravely underestimated our energy needs when we started out, so we kept adding solar panels along the way. Purchasing gear in remote places is usually more expensive and ordering it can be a time-consuming and nerve-wracking process. So, it’s a good idea to tabulate your energy requirements and equip the boat accordingly before you set out.
Solar panels form the basis of a green energy supply. Catamarans have plenty of space for panels, but monohulls require more creativity. Pitufa’s a monohull with a slim stern, so we installed two large panels on the radar arch and two more on the railing using aluminum profiles as mounting points. We experimented with flexible panels on the bimini, but they didn’t cope with flexing fabric and both died within a year. Flexible panels installed on deck or on rigid spray hoods or biminis yield better results.
We now carry 600W of solar power – more than enough for our needs (watermaker, fridge, inverter, laptops, navigation instruments, etc.). We refrained from installing a freezer, mainly because of its greed for energy during the night – if you want one, you’ll need more solar panels, a larger battery bank (or lithium batteries that handle deep cycles much better), and/ or a wind generator.
Wind generators keep the batteries topped up on grey days and during the night. Many brands lure customers with amazing power-output graphs. But be careful: you don’t want to buy a wind generator without listening to it in action first! Many larger generators sound like a helicopter taking off with a banshee for a pilot – annoying enough on a neighbouring boat, but imagine having one howling on your own radar arch day and night? Proprietors of such monsters either sleep with ear plugs or turn them off during the night, thus nullifying their main advantage of charging the batteries during the dark hours when the solar panels are slumbering.
We are the happy owners of a small Rutland 914i, a model that is very reasonably priced and only announces its presence with a gentle hum – a friendly sound like a purring cat. It is not fantastically powerful, but it constantly adds some amps and after a night with 15 knots of wind, the batteries are full in the morning.
During passages, instruments and autopilot run all day, so the average consumption is higher, but often sails shade solar panels, so production tends to be lower. With the wind before or on the beam, the wind generator works nicely, but on downwind courses the apparent wind is less anyway and when the boat is rolling in high seas the generator starts spinning confusedly. In such conditions a tow generator helps keeping the energy budget on the positive side. Some tow generators double as wind generators, but temporarily fixing them in the rigging is somewhat cumbersome, so many owners don’t bother. On Pitufa our wind vane steers the boat untiringly without the need for electricity, so we are fine without an additional tow generator.
SAILING INSTEAD OF MOTORING
The wind’s free and even after 11 years of cruising it still feels like magic that a heavy sailing boat can cover gigantic distances using just mother nature’s breath. Of course, it takes some patience and careful studying of weather forecasts to catch a weather window that will take us all the way to our destination. If the forecast changes underway and we run out of wind, we try to be flexible – perhaps make an unscheduled stop-over if possible or change course to an island within reach of the remaining wind. Since we bought a light-wind sail three years ago, we find that we use the engine even less – riding a hint of a breeze underneath in the shadow of our huge gennaker is so much more serene than listening to the growling Yanmar burning fuel and heating up the cabin.
A fixed itinerary e.g. to catch a flight or to pick up guests at a distant harbour adds stress to the cruising life and hours on the engine, so we try to arrive with lots of time to spare. Cruisers who try to save diesel and avoid using the engine sometimes must wait a while for the right weather window, but with some patience, passages usually work out nicely without the iron genoa.
Buzzing around in the dinghy uses quite some petrol, but using a kayak to explore the anchorage and surroundings saves money and provides a workout.
No matter if you’re active sailors or enjoy hanging out in bays, if you follow the sunny trade-wind routes or brave rougher areas – with the right mix of alternative energy sources and patient passage planning, you can save money on fuel, keep your carbon footprint low, your neighbours happy and leave mother earth a tiny bit healthier! BNZ
Birgit and Christian have been happy, green cruisers for 11 years. Check out their blog www.pitufa.at for more info or follow them on facebook.com/sy.pitufa! They have also published a book about their travels: Sailing Towards the Horizon, available on Amazon.
