The sailing world is a bizarre mix of extreme sustainability (wind power is, of course, a deeply sustainable form of propulsion) mixed with a fairly grim reality of hugely unsustainable plastics. Glassfibre and carbonfibre produced in the traditional manner with epoxy glue are the antithesis of sustainable and it is therefore to some extent understandable that when noted environmentalist Greta Thunberg chose to sail to the US on the carbonfibre catamaran Malizia II a few years back, she was derided in certain quarters.
There remains no cost effective way of recycling the thousands glassfibre boats produced since the 1960s and the best solution remains to chop them up into pieces and put it in landfill. Shells of once fine yachts can be seen in every mooring and anchorage throughout the world and the fact that the French state will actually subsidise an owner to destroy their boat illustrates what a problem this has become. Thankfully, advances are being made.
BOATBUILDERS
Boatbuilders are currently getting increasingly onboard with the idea that green initiatives have to be something more than a mere nod towards the environment. As such, manufacturers are working hard to develop green practices from the get go. Electric power, once seen as a bit of a gimmick on big boats, is starting be seen as a viable alternative and, the fact that Excess Catamarans – part of the Beneteau Group and therefore one of the giants of the industry – spent a good deal of 2021 touring the Med with an all electric Torqeedo powered Excess 15 catamaran with the express aim of analysing the data and working out exactly how viable electric power was on a big boat. The bottom line, however, is that Excess as a mass producer, would need 20 per cent of future customers of all electric models to make it cost effective. In the meantime, the company has decided that
