The Volvo Ocean Race shares its environmental message across the world. Photo: Pedro Martinez/Volvo Ocean Race
The Volvo Ocean Race shares its environmental message across the world. Photo: Pedro Martinez/Volvo Ocean Race
For the first three decades of its existence, it was a race around the world and nothing more.
But the Volvo Ocean Race has become so much more than just a race.
Since the event partnered with the Save the Albatross campaign in 2005, awareness of the environment has been a core message to the expedition.
Now, the event is not only one of the toughest races on Earth, but also a scientific expedition as well as an environmental awareness project.
The race around the world visits a number of remote places in the ocean few scientific expeditions can get to, and Volvo Ocean Race sustainability communications manager Robin Clegg said the event was an opportunity to learn more about what's going on in our seas.
"This data has never been found before. We're going to these places where we simply don't know anything about."
In this year's campaign, the fleet has been dropping drifter buoys into the sea, which send real-time information on the currents and weather patterns back to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States.
"That's what boats need," sustainability education manager Lucy Hunt said. "A real-time forecast…it's helping to build more real-time understanding of the weather and how changes in sea temperature are affecting the weather."
A NZ$507,000 piece of bespoke equipment has also been used on board the vessel of Turn the Tide on Plastic, which has been measuring waters for salinity and chlorophyll levels, but also for micro-plastics.
When the crew gets to port, filters on the machine are removed and sent to a laboratory in Germany where they are analysed.
To get a larger sample size, Team AkzoNobel will also be taking the equipment in the second half of the race.
"Because we're going to such remote places in the ocean…it's really helping to build up an understanding among the science community of how much micro-plastics are in our oceans," Clegg said.
As well as trying to learn about the environment, the race's message to promote environmental awareness is a strong one.
All host cities are asked not to have single-use plastics available on site, they organise beach clean-ups at every stop-over, and host summits at a number of stops where sustainability is discussed.
At the summit held in Cape Town, a popular ocean-front mall said they would be starting to phase out single-use plastic bags, while the mayor of Alicante pledged to not use single-use plastics at any of the town's events.
The environmental impact of such pollutants as single-use plastics is seen throughout the world by the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, and the sailors are happy to share the message.
Dee Caffari said it was an important part of the race to share the sustainability awareness message. Photo: James Blake / Volvo Ocean Race
Turn the Tide on Plastic skipper Dee Caffari said that trying to educate fans of the race added another layer to what was already a tough event.
"Yes, there's that competitive element, but there's the environmental message too," she said.
"Heaven help anyone in my crew that is caught with a straw."
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