Do good things

Do good things © Island Cruising NZ

It's so easy to make mistakes while cruising and without thinking do lasting damage to the magnificent world you've cruised so far.

Here are just a few ways you can be kind to the creatures of the sea, your fellow cruisers and the people who live where you cruise; specific actions that won't cost a thing but will bring a huge profit in happy cruising.

Anchor in the sand, not in the coral

Yacht anchors and chains have already caused massive damage to coral reefs throughout the tropics. Corals are fragile, delicate, slow growing creatures; the foundation of the complex association of creatures that together build and maintain the marvelous coral reef ecosystems of the tropics.

A 30 kg anchor and 20 meters of chain can do an unbelievable amount of damage when it's dropped onto a coral reef. First the coral is smashed, broken and abraded. Then infections begin in the damaged coral tissue that results in continued death of the corals even after the yacht has picked up the anchor and moved on. The coral reef fish and other invertebrates essential to the nutrient cycle of the coral reefs move to undamaged areas or are killed by predators.

Next, the dying corals attract coral predators like parrot fish and crown of thorns starfish. Followed by an overgrowth of algae that smothers any remaining coral and prevents further coral settlement. At night, when the algae stops photosynthesizing, oxygen falls to very low levels killing any fish and invertebrates still sheltering in the dead coral.

One yacht anchor and chain dropped into the coral results in terrible damage - a thousand yacht anchors over a single cruising season can destroy the coral in an entire bay. When this happens, the wealth of fish is gone, too, so villagers who depend on their reefs for subsistence must find food elsewhere. Anchoring in the coral is not just unkind, it's dangerous.

Fragile corals have very little holding power. If a strong wind comes up the anchor will drag, causing even more damage to the coral and maybe also to the yacht. Anchors are designed to hold in sand or mud, not in coral and if they get fouled by coral fragments they won't dig in again. If the anchor or chain is dropped into massive corals it can become trapped, impossible to retrieve without diving on it, and sometimes not even then.

Remember:

• Anchor in the sand, never in the coral.
• Have a recording depth sounder aboard so you can see the coral on the bottom.
• Learn how to recognize areas with no coral before you drop the hook.
• In New Caledonia the marine parks have public moorings so yachts don't have to anchor at all but if the moorings are all taken (as they can be on weekends and holidays). Kind cruisers anchor in the sand, not in the coral.

Watch your step

Be careful what you step on. Cuts in the marine environment – especially coral cuts – quickly become infected with marine bacteria and are very difficult to cure unless treated immediately. You should be wearing shoes or fins to avoid cuts or spines in shallow water but if you walk on the coral or stand on it you’ll kill the delicate living coral. Even massive coral heads, like brain coral, are covered with a fragile coral tissue that dies if someone stands on it.

Vegetation growing on the top of tropical lagoon island beaches is critical to the complex environmental network of these unique ecosystems. Avoid walking on beach vegetation for two reasons. First, it damages the plants and, if alot of visitors do it, the plants will die. Second, sea snakes nest in the vegetation; sometimes a lot of snakes.

Remember:

• When going ashore or snorkeling, anchor your dingy in the sand and walk in the sand. Do not walk or stand on the coral.
• When walking on lagoon island beaches avoid walking on the delicate vegetation on the top of the beach.

Be nice to the birds:

“Oh my God, look at them all! The birds are everywhere,” she screams as the dinghy comes up to the beach surrounded by thousands of birds wheeling, screeching, even dive-bombing the four people in the little inflatable dinghy. “They’re not afraid of us at all, they even tried to land on our heads!”

The video goes on to show the crew from a yacht strolling down the beach, birds rising up in clouds of swirling wings. A close up of a bird in its nest, screeching at the camera. A finger pointing to a nest on the beach with an egg in it. A man lying down on the beach to get a close-up video of a bird protecting an egg on the sand.

These were really nice cruising people enjoying the wilderness of a tropical island – a nature reserve – during the nesting season of rare, endangered birds. What they didn’t realize is their leisurely stroll along the beach sent the birds into a panic and the birds trying to land on their heads were, in fact, trying to chase them off.

Sea birds that lay their eggs on the sand need to protect the eggs from the sun during the day. Even a few minutes of exposure to the hot tropical sun can kill the developing egg. There is a good chance the developing chicks in the eggs lying bare on the hot sand in the video died. (Note: the cruisers in the video were not involved in the Ilot Ua disaster described in the further reading link below and there was no red flag to warn them the birds were nesting).

Remember:

• Stay off the beaches of lagoon islands during the summer nesting season.
• From October to March in New Caledonia nature guards erect masts flying red flags on beaches when the sea birds are nesting and boaters are prohibited from landing on the islets when the flag is flying.
• But, in more remote areas, nobody puts up a red flag to warn boaters. So it’s up to considerate cruisers to leave the birds alone when they are nesting.

To read this article and some more of Richards great cruising tips and beautiful photographs check out the amazing Rocket Guides - cruising guides for Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Island Cruising Members get a 10% discount. And you can read more on Richard's blog here.