Please select your home edition
Edition
Pantaenius Sail 2025 AUS Leaderboard

16-year-old pollution campaigner sails the Atlantic Garbage Patch

by Linda Trimble/Sail-World Cruising on 13 Sep 2011
Le Roux Eloi Le Roux - campaigning for ocean pollution prevention SW
While many sixteen-year-olds are hanging out with their friends at the coolest place in town, Eloi Le Roux, a sixteen-year-old from Florida USA, is passionate about his personal campaign to combat ocean pollution. He convinced his family to sail in search of the Atlantic Garbage Patch while on their way to Europe.

Here Linda Trimble of the Daytona_Beach_News_Journal tells a moving story:


Still partly inflated, a bunch of balloons floated on the surface of the Sargasso Sea east of Bermuda, a silent reminder of a distant celebration.

The Le Roux family of Ormond Beach eased their sloop toward the pink and blue flotsam so 17-year-old Alex could snag it with a boat hook and haul it aboard.

It was just the kind of 'souvenir' Alex's younger brother, Eloi, was hoping to find on his family's seven-week voyage across the Atlantic from Ponce Inlet to Portugal.

The balloons and other trash Eloi collected, including tiny particles of plastic and large buoys trailing shell-encrusted rope, came from what scientists have come to call the 'Atlantic Garbage Patch' between Bermuda and the Azores Islands.

Research teams that have collected samples from the area over the last 20 years reported on the phenomenon last year at an ocean sciences conference -- something that caught Eloi's attention as his family prepared for the voyage that was two years in the planning.

Seeking evidence to support his campaign to combat ocean pollution, Eloi rigged up six 120-pound-test fishing lines to trail from the sailboat at different depths to collect whatever might be floating on or in the water.

'The ocean is downstream to everything,' said Eloi, adding the answer to reducing pollution is to take more care in disposing of items that aren't biodegradable.

He and his family packed carefully for their voyage, avoiding items wrapped in plastic and choosing paper products like plates over the plastic variety whenever possible.

Eloi also printed up fliers to post at marinas along the way and talked to fellow boaters about the issue at every opportunity, discouraging them from ever throwing trash overboard. He plans to build a science fair project around his summer experiences to spread information to another audience.

Eloi's parents, Michel and Thanda, aren't surprised by the 16-year-old's tenacity in tackling the ocean pollution issue.

They're used to his curiosity and determination to solve problems. He was only in eighth grade when he spotted an abandoned catamaran in a Daytona Beach yard and approached the homeowner about fixing it up. She gave the boat to Eloi and he and a friend repaired it, even fashioning a homemade sail.

Thanda Le Roux said Eloi's interest in sailing that boat is what ultimately got the whole family involved in boating.

Eloi said his father had sailed years before in his native France and seeing his son get involved in the sport 'rekindled his sailing heart.'


It wasn't long before the family bought a 26-foot sailboat, replaced the next year by their current 43-foot boat. Eloi, his brother Alex and father honed their sailing skills in races offshore of Volusia County.

After two years of planning and detailed preparation for any possible emergency, the family left for Portugal in late May this year. Thanda Le Roux was the chief cook. Her husband and sons shared the round-the-clock sailing duties and 8-year-old daughter Alice kept the ship's log.

http://www.news-journalonline.com!Daytona_Beach_News_Journal

Hyde Sails 2024 - One DesignV-DRY-XJeanneau Sun Odyssey 350

Related Articles

Marine Auctions: Two Online Auctions in July
Also Jacob Seiffert has been appointed as the Area Representative for the Port Lincoln Region Marine Auctions are proud to announce that Jacob Seiffert has been appointed as the Area Representative for the Port Lincoln Region in South Australia. Jacob is a local Commerical Fisherman.
Posted today at 2:43 am
Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta 2025 Preview
The fourth stop of the five series Sailing Grand Slam circuit Over 200 elite athletes from 42 nations have converged on Long Beach to test their skills on the same waters that will host sailing events during the LA2028 Olympic Games as they compete in the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta July 12-20
Posted today at 12:11 am
Best Buddies from Germany win the AEGEAN 600 2025
The second wave of finishers benefit from last night's steadier breezes Behind the first wave of finishers yesterday morning, yesterday and last night's steadier breezes helped sweep in another wave of Monohull and Multihull finishers to the race finish at Cape Sounion.
Posted on 11 Jul
Tough conditions test Morris
As iQFOiL World Championships wrap up The iQFOiL World Championships have drawn to a close in Aarhus, Denmark, following a week of light and unpredictable wind that tested both race officials and athletes to the limit.
Posted on 11 Jul
International Moth Worlds at Lake Garda Day 4
Balanger dominates qualifying, storm cuts Gold fleet racing short Day four of the 2025 Moth World Championship opened at dawn with another early start for the 137 athletes from 25 nations competing on Lake Garda.
Posted on 11 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds in Aarhus overall
Thrilling Medal Series closes out a spectacular week of high-stakes foiling in Denmark The 2025 iQFOiL World Championship wrapped up in Aarhus with a spectacular Medal Series showdown that saw Emma Wilson (GBR 7) and Andy Brown (GBR 360) rise to the top and secure World Championship titles.
Posted on 11 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race IRC Three preview
This has produced the overall winner of two of the last six editions IRC Three may consist of smaller, slower and in some cases older boats than those that will garner headlines in the first couple of days of the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Posted on 11 Jul
Zhik Nordic Youth Sailing Championship preview
This year's regatta will be the largest of its kind ever hosted in Tallinn Tallinna Yacht Club brings one of the biggest sports events of the summer to Haven Kakumäe - 300 young sailors expected at the Zhik Nordic Youth Sailing Championship, plus just as many supporters on shore!
Posted on 11 Jul
18th Puig Vela Clàssica Barcelona day 1
Opening victories and nautical splendor This week, Barcelona once again takes center stage in the world of classic sailing as the 18th edition of the Puig Vela Clàssica gets under way. The opening day delivered ideal conditions for a spectacular display on the water.
Posted on 11 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race: IRC Two Preview
With 73 entries in IRC Two, the Rolex Fastnet Race is set to deliver a striking display. Could two new JPK 1050s upset the apple cart in IRC Two? Jean-Pierre Kelbert has a habit of breaking the mould in IRC racing, and his new 34-footer may well be a game changer in this competitive division with 73 entries.
Posted on 11 Jul