Race For Water Odyssey Kicks Off Scientific Sailing Expedition To Safeguard Oceans From Plastic PollutionThe Race for Water Odyssey (R4WO) will travel over 40,000 nautical miles with 11 scientific stopovers and 9 outreach stops in 13 countries within 300 days. The boat will dock in New York City from April 8-15. Bordeaux, France (PRWEB) - This morning, the “MOD70 Race for Water” boat arrived in Bordeaux with great fanfare for an eventful week. On Sunday, March 15, the crew will raise anchor with the intention of gaining knowledge about waste gyres in less than one year. Even though they constitute a major environmental disaster, these immense pollution zones in oceans are in fact still relatively unknown. The goal of this scientific sailing expedition is to draw up an initial global assessment. Scientific as well as human, the R4WO also aims to raise awareness about marine pollution—a vital exploit, considering that an estimated 80 percent of the trash polluting the oceans comes from human activities. The initiative begins today; numerous events have been organized in collaboration with Bordeaux authorities and the Maison Ecocitoyenne (i.e. Eco-Citizen House), which will follow the adventure throughout the year. A team eager to cast off For his part, Stève Ravussin, famous Swiss navigator and skipper of this expedition, can’t wait to put his seafaring skills to use, and insists that the situation is urgent: “The sea has given me so much; it enabled me to make a name for myself. The time has come for me to return the favor by showing the extent to which the sea is suffering from our actions. We come across countless diverse objects on the high seas. In 2012 during the Krys Ocean Race with this same catamaran, my path was obstructed by a drifting container, so I know what I am talking about. It is important to make this known, and I look forward to starting the R4WO to move things forward. Our training sessions in Lorient went well, and the entire team is ready to tackle the trip around the world.” Global expedition to safeguard oceans from plastic
pollution kicks-off in Bordeaux The departure of the “MOD70 Race for Water” will take place on Sunday, March 15. The trimaran and her crew will then set sail for Azores (Portugal), the first of the R4WO’s eleven scientific stopovers, where the scientific protocol will be deployed for the first time. From April 8-15, the R4WO will dock in New York City as part of its mission to raise global awareness for plastic pollution in the oceans. Before returning to Bordeaux in mid-December 2015, the crew will sail for 300 days in order to draw up an initial global pollution assessment of the “world’s biggest trash can”. Follow the R4WO’s progress live at http://www.raceforwater.org/race_for_water_odyssey/map More information about the program in Bordeaux http://www.raceforwater.org/steps/bordeaux_city About the Race for Water Foundation In addition, the Race for Water Odyssey benefits from the support of ISAF, Duke University, Oregon State University, senseFly, Swisscom and Swissnex. Watch a video about the sustainability mission of the Race for Water Odyssey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZCIeFV_Cy4 SOURCE: PRWeb View original release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/03/prweb12575169.htm |