ACEA partners with Sailors for the Sea, nets high rewards

by Irene Corosu on 2 Oct 2012 At the second America’s Cup World Series San Francisco, scheduled to get underway tomorrow, the organizers will continue their commitment to Clean Regattas certification. The America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) has partnered with Sailors for the Sea as the Official Clean Regattas Partner of the 34th America’s Cup. Clean Regattas certification provides independent, third-party verification that a yacht club, sailing program, or regatta is environmentally responsible, and is doing its utmost to protect the waters upon which people sail.

The six previous AC World Series regattas have been mostly graded Silver, with AC World Series Newport (June 27-July 1) topping the list with a Gold certification. At Newport, ACEA worked with Sailors for the Sea and the local organizing committee to find a composting solution. Nearly two tons of material was composted, while another 8.5 tons of material was prevented from entering local landfills.

Other highlights of Newport included free drinking water provided by ACEA in an effort to eliminate single-use plastic bottles, and an extensive plan was enacted to shuttle spectators to the venue from downtown Newport via water taxi and clearly marked bike lanes to help limit automobile exhaust emissions.

The building of a rain garden was another highlight of ACWS Newport. A garden of native Rhode Island plants and shrubs was designed to capture runoff from the parking lot at Fort Adams and treat the water through a filtering system. The project was a collaboration of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the event host committee, Sailors for the Sea and the America’s Cup Healthy Ocean Project.

The high standards continued at the AC World Series San Francisco in August, where ACEA:

- Provided 2,725 gallons of drinking water to all guests and spectators (preventing the use of at least 24,700 single-use plastic bottles);

- Diverted 11.5 tons of material from the AC Village open public area away from the landfill (a 73 percent diversion rate);

- Used B20 biodiesel to power the event generators;

- Established a free bike valet station at the AC Village (managed by the SF Bike Coalition) that saw more than 750 bikes on Saturday, Aug. 25, alone; and,

- The America’s Cup Healthy Ocean Project beach cleanup had 180 volunteers pick up more than 75 bags of trash and recyclable items at Fort Baker – participants includes team members, volunteers, America’s Cup staff and America’s Cup partners including Sailors for the Sea’s CEO Dan Pingaro.

'The efforts put forth by Jill Savery, the Head of Sustainability for the 34th America’s Cup, and her team and our partners show our dedication to making the 34th America’s Cup a sustainable event,' said Stephen Barclay, the CEO of the America’s Cup. 'In collaboration with our partners like Sailors for the Sea, we are taking concrete, measurable actions to reduce our impact on the environment.'

'Our work with the America’s Cup Event Authority and efforts to support and certify each of the America’s Cup World Series events provided us the opportunity to evaluate our Best Practices checklist,' said Annie Brett, program lead, Sailors for the Sea. 'We continue to collaborate with the ACEA on ways to extend knowledge through education, volunteer work, hands-on activities, and participation in coastal conservation efforts.'

With the next America’s Cup World Series San Francisco starting this week, ACEA invites its fans to support initiatives to deliver a Clean Regatta. ACEA will once again provide drinking water to all visitors, and also aims to divert materials away from landfill by reusing, composting and recycling. Around the venue there’ll be three different colored bins – green (for compost), blue (for recyclables) and black (for landfill).

Fans are also reminded to visit the website for journey planning. The website has information on public transit, walking and cycling options. The America’s Cup Healthy Ocean Project and our partners welcome you to participate in a conservation activity on Friday, Oct. 5, at Fort Mason, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Participants will work on a restoration and coastal cleanup to preserve the coastline near our event site. Information can be found on the America’s Cup website.

For more details about Clean Regattas, including how to carry out each Best Practice, click here.

To make a club or an event a Clean Regatta, click Americas Cup website