Blue Planet Odyssey Rally - Raising climate change awareness

by Cornell Sailing on 29 Jul 2014 The Blue Planet Odyssey is currently underway. The round-the-world sailing rally is aiming to raise awareness of the global effects of climate change and the most urgent issues facing our ocean.

'I have sailed to some of the remotest parts of the globe and have been privileged to encounter some of the most isolated communities. More than anything else, for me the Blue Planet Odyssey will be payback time. I want to show my gratitude to those people all over the world who have welcomed me and countless sailors with warmth, friendship and generosity.

As this Odyssey calls at places where people’s lives are affected by climate change, we want them to know that cruising sailors care for them and empathise with their concerns,' Jimmy Cornell.

The Blue Planet Odyssey is a round the world sailing event aimed at raising awareness of the global effects of climate change and the state of the ocean, conveying the message: The Ocean – Our Future by calling at some of the most endangered places on the planet:

• San Blas Islands in the Atlantic Ocean;
• The Arctic Ocean;
• Galapagos Islands, Tuvalu and the Great Barrier Reef in the Pacific Ocean;
• The Maldive and Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean.

Starting from Europe in 2014, the route of the Blue Planet Odyssey has been chosen to take advantage of the most favourable weather conditions and to pass through some of the most attractive cruising areas in the world.

Participants will be able to start from a port on their own continent or join the event at the nearest point along its route, completing their circumnavigation in 2016-2017.

Sail the Odyssey program
In line with the overall aim of the Blue Planet Odyssey, participants are expected to play an active part in some of the projects associated with the event.

There will be opportunities for participants to contribute to the education program, as well as contributing to community projects in some of the endangered places the Blue Planet Odyssey will be visiting.

Participants will take also part in a number of oceanographic and meteorological projects by deploying autonomous scientific instruments, gathering and transmitting data from remote ocean areas from where there is an acute absence of up-to-date information on climatic conditions.

In recognition for this valuable contribution to scientific research, the Blue Planet Odyssey will be run under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organisation and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Routes
• Blue Planet Odyssey sails westabout around the world along the classic trade wind route via the Panama Canal and Torres Strait.

• For those who prefer to sail a more challenging route, there is the option of a Northern Route via the Northwest Passage or a southern route via Easter Island.

• European participants sailing the Southern Route start from London on 12 July 2014 in company with the European Odyssey fleet. On the way to the Canary Islands they follow the European Odyssey route before crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean and continuing to Panama and the Pacific Ocean.

• The main start of the Blue Planet Odyssey is in Miami in January 2015, although participants will also be starting from London, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean and the US West Coast, with opportunities for others to join the route in the Pacific.

• Detours will be made along the main route to call at endangered islands in every ocean: The San Blas Islands will be visited en route to Panama, while the Galapagos and Tuamotus will be stops on the route to Tahiti. Tokelau and Tuvalu will be incorporated into a detour from Tahiti to Fiji. The Andaman and Maldive Islands will be visited during the crossing of the North Indian Ocean.

For more information, click here