Picking Up Trash Makes You a Better Sailor!

Here at the American Sailing Association, the waters of our earth are obviously on the top of our priority list. With The Ocean Cleanup as our inspiration, we have thought more and more about the harmful affects of plastics in the oceans and want to do our part to make a bad situation at least a little bit better.

While Boyan Slat and The Ocean Cleanup team work to remove the plastics already in the waters, we want to remind all sailors that controlling the garbage while it’s still in our possession is a big deal.It’s easy to forget how damaging a simple water bottle or plastic bag can be and we implore you to not only be mindful about the plastic all around and dispose of it in the right way, but if you see stuff in your travels, make it work to your advantage. How? MOB drills! Picking up trash can make you a better sailor!

Before you leave the dock on a day-sail, make a pact with your crew that if someone spots some floating garbage, treat it like a man overboard and practice the steps of retrieval. By doing so you’ll learn to handle your boat better, make your boat the safest one out there and clean up the waters all at the same time!

When it comes to your sailing skills, this garbage might be the best thing that’s happened to you (besides ASA courses, of course). Stick a net somewhere in your boat and make cleaning up our watery back yard something fun and productive.

We hope that this can be a common goal for sailors around the world, then, slowly but surely, everyone will become more mindful and active about cleaning up the scene. We understand it’s only one bottle or bag at a time, but there are a lot of us and the fact that we’re taking the time and effort will be powerful.

We hope you join in the effort to grab that plastic from the drink – it’ll help everyone in the end.

Stay tuned for more helpful hints and updates!