Cape2Rio competitor and WWF team up to tackle marine plastic pollution
by Simone Balman 17 Dec 2019 10:16 PST
LoveWater crew © cape2rio2020.com
WWF South Africa and racing trimaran Love Water are joining forces to raise awareness about the problem of plastic pollution in the world's oceans ahead of the Cape2Rio yacht race in January 2020.
The 80-foot, French trimaran is currently heading towards South African water on a 13 000km voyage from Portugal to Cape Town where it will make final preparations to take part in the Southern Hemisphere's premium sailing event - a trans-Atlantic crossing from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro.
The crew are Craig Sutherland, Ken Venn, Mike Clarke, Phil Lambrecht, Rick Garratt, Mike Minkley, Antoine Rabaste and Brian Thompson.
The #LoveWater team has set itself two goals - to break the previous Cape2Rio record of 11 days set by rival vessel Maserati, and to promote environmental awareness around the impact of plastic pollution on marine life while doing so.
They've also settled on the lucky number eight. With eight crew members on board, and their sights set on a record-breaking eight-day race, they plan to share eight stories about plastic pollution during their voyage.
They will end their trip with a Commitment Day when they will share what they've learnt and seen of plastic pollution during the crossing and make their own pledges to do something about it.
Love Water is expected to arrive in Cape Town on 12 December where it will be berthed at the V&A Waterfront until 11 January when the race starts.
Pavitray Pillay, Environmental Behaviour Change Manager with WWF South Africa, said: "We were thrilled when Love Water approached us to suggest that we join forces to bring home a relevant environmental message during this popular yacht race. With an estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic entering our oceans each year from land-based sources, we couldn't think of a more important issue to tackle together."
Rick Garratt, sponsor of LoveWater and Founder of HomeChoice International Ltd, said "We are excited to be participating in this record attempt and in so doing to highlight the pollution of our oceans and water. Our collaboration with WWF South Africa brings home the urgent need to do something to change the way people think about the ocean and the use of plastics. As a company, with the help of WWF, we are committed to reducing our use of plastics in 2020 by signing the plastics pledge and we urge other companies to follow suit."
Follow #LoveWater's progress at my.yb.tl/lovewater and the social media channels of both #LoveWater and WWF South Africa to learn more about plastic pollution and to track the yacht's progress.