SOS Ocean Racing new departure set for Wednesday 5th May

by SOS Media on 3 May 2010 Further delays on a tracking device have caused SOS Ocean Racing to delay until Wednesday 5th May. The mandatory tracking device was sent on Toll Air Express from Hobart on Friday on what was meant to be an overnight flight to Proserpine however it was confirmed this morning that the device was sitting in Darwin, a far cry from the central Queensland airport it was meant to be at.

Save Our Seas Ocean Racing is setting off to break the world record for sailing solo non stop around Australia and skipper Ian Thomson commented today, 'It is unbelievable how a company like Toll Air Express can make such a blunder. I was told that they simply forgot to take it off the flight in Brisbane and the freight continued on to Darwin.'

The tracker is vital in ratifying the world record which is being overseen by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. Without it they simply cannot ratify that the correct course was taken. It will give a reading every 15 minutes throughout the journey and this information will be live on the SOS website at www.sosoceanracing.com

Thomson stated that the weather window is still good for the departure although it is lightening off across the top which isn't ideal but after months of preparation, the arrival of the unit is out of his hands.

'There isn't much I can do but sit and wait, something we as sailors are meant to be good at, but it is very hard to take when it is blowing 25-30 today which is perfect to get off to a flyer.'

SOS Ocean Racing is out to create awareness of the damage plastic bags are doing to our environment. A turtle that can live up to 200 years can die within a week when they eat a plastic bag which looks like their favourite food, a jelly fish.

Not being able to regurgitate anything, once the turtle consumes a plastic bag, it will remain in their stomachs till they die, which is sooner rather than later.

Ian states 'Every time a boat says they have no water coming out of their exhaust, the first thing they think of is that they have sucked up a plastic bag. We cause that problem so why not get rid of them?'

There is a poll on the SOS Ocean Racing website where you can vote for what you think the Australian Government should do with plastic bag legislation. Visit www.sosoceanracing.com to vote now.