Trash & Waste while in Bahamas
Glenn McGill
extended cruising in the Bahamas
Rosalie B.
>Can anyone tell me how the problem of trash and black water is handled while
>extended cruising in the Bahamas
>
Very few places in the Bahamas have any regulations about black water.
The only one I can think of is Highborne Marina which doesn't want any
discharge in their basin, which doesn't have good flushing properties
and is semi-reasonable, except they also have no pumpout facilities,
no bathrooms, and they include treated waste in the prohibition. They
expect you to leave the marina and dump your holding tank outside the
basin.
We were at a marina in Bimini when the power boat next to us
accidentally ran a transfer pump to transfer fuel between one tank and
another, and the tank it was being transferred to was full. So it
went overboard. A considerable amount of diesel (fortunately not
gasoline) went overboard before the owner was found and the pumping
stopped. The Bimini people didn't see any problem with this as they
said the tide would take it out.
Trash dumping is a more difficult problem. If you are staying at a
marina, you can usually also dump trash. At uninhabited cayes
sometimes people bury their trash ashore. I think some places charge
for trash disposal too.
GM
>
> >Can anyone tell me how the problem of trash and black water is handled
while
> >extended cruising in the Bahamas
Glenn,
You bring up a good point. Regarding garbage - we disposed of easily
biodegradable waste overboard when in open water. Otherwise we compressed it
and saved it until we went ashore on an inhabited island. In the Abacos,
every second island is inhabited, so it was not a problem. Not sure about
the Exumas.
Regarding waste disposal - that is a big problem in my mind. When you see
those beautiful Bahamas coves with yachts anchored out, consider that every
one discharges all their sewage and grey waste overboard - Get up in the
morning and think of a swim - think again, even your crew mates may be
dumping raw waste overboard. It's a problem that no one is even trying to
solve.
Armond Perretta
> Can anyone tell me how the problem of trash and black water is
> handled while extended cruising in the Bahamas
My old pal Ed showed me a method he'd used for many years. I ended up
adopting it.
The basic tool is an old US Army "entrenching tool" (a.k.a., shovel). I
later bought a small shovel at a garden supply store in the States. Ed
would take anything that could be burned ashore (including cans
incidentally) on a fairly deserted cay or beach, dig a good-sized hole, and
burn the stuff in a controlled fashion. What was left over was either
buried on location, or carried back to the boat for ultimate disposal in
another more appropriate location.
This obviously gets rid of paper and most biodegradable materials, so what
is left is usually metallic. This kind of trash can usually be tossed
overside in deep water without environmental consequence.
At first I was a little put off by this process, but on reflection this
process is probably much better environmentally than what probably occurs to
trash when it is disposed of locally on shore in the Bahama Islands.
--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.tripod.com
The Marchands
disposal container. Some like Hopetown (where you leave your trash on the
town dock) only operate at certain hours and certain days of the week. The
Abaco cruisers net can advise you of where and when. At worst, you may have
to pay a buck (Man O War Cay) to dump your trash at a marina facility.
There are no black water dumping restrictions in the Bahamas and no
pumpouts.
David
"Glenn McGill" <deb...@rogers.com> wrote in message
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