By Captain Mike Barber
In a time not long ago, I could readily find anchorages with little or no one in them. The seclusion was always a happy respite from the culturized world. I could drift around fishing from my dinghy for hours on end without interruption. Nowadays it seems that most anchorages are full to the shoreline and dinghy drifts are social events where throngs of dinghies raft up to have a sundown party. I participated in just such an event last week.
One of the more humorous moments of the evening was the sighting of a turd floating by. Even as full-grown adults, we easily found humor in turds. While the humor in it was sophomoric in nature no one actually wanted to ruin the spirit of the event with a serious discussion about the defilement of the very thing that brought us all here. We all migrate here for the pristine clear water, swimming, diving, fishing and more. But who really wants to get in the water with turds floating by?
The rest of the world has not even bothered to think about these issues yet. Many of our favored ports of call have no infrastructure for pump-outs and the water is a veritable cesspool. Even in the Bahamas it is a pump-overboard-at-will situation. The islands have a greater water circulation than most regions, but still the waste goes somewhere.
Here in the U.S., most marinas have pump-out facilities. Holding tanks are woefully small on most boats, which puts even well intended captains in a stinky position. It is simply too easy to turn the Y valve, pump and start fresh.
But there is a better solution both home and abroad for us all. Composting units for boats are more cost effective, easier to maintain, and simplify a traditionally serious plumbing system. A compost head does away with the holding tank and the necessity for a pump-out. The compost product can be safely deposited in any trash can or sprinkled around on existing dirt. The urine is a little different situation. Urine is mostly sterile. I say “mostly” because it does have a cocktail of microbes in it, but they are harmless to large bodies of water. While I would really rather you dump your urine in a toilet in a marina, it is far safer to pump overboard than the turds.
The Florida Keys are a No Discharge Zone (NDZ) and a few other locations are seriously considering legislation to the same end. It is amazing to me that this issue is even open for discussion. Is there really enough here to discuss? Why can’t we simply make all waters an NDZ?
At the end of the day, please ask yourself if you are willing to dive into the water immediately after you dump any of your waste into it. If the answer is not only no but … then maybe you should reconsider. And don’t even make me talk about oil, gas, diesel fuel etc. etc.
Capt’n Mike
www.Whensday.us
