The Race for Water trimaran safely arrived in Malé under jury rig yesterday. The complex rescue operation was organized in collaboration with the American military base of Diego Garcia and the British crew from the BIOT Pacific Marlin after the MOD70 trimaran Race for Water had capsized in the Indian Ocean on Saturday September 12th. The trimaran was turned over and all members of the crew are looking forward to join the planned upcoming stopovers of the Race for Water Odyssey.
After more than 32,000 nautical miles through 3 oceans (Atlantic, Pacific and Indian), 10 days of perseverance and dedication at the military base of Diego Garcia, and 5 days of navigation under jury rig between Chagos and the Maldives, the trimaran reached Malé yesterday morning. The crew arrived in the Maldives at 6:30 a.m. local time, torn between the relief of the arrival and the sadness of being forced to stop this year-long adventure onboard the Ambassador Boat of the Race for Water Foundation. The trimaran will be assessed and shipped back to France in order to be repaired.
”The entire crew are relieved to finally reach Malé, after the past two very intense weeks” said Stève Ravussin, skipper of the expedition, and continues: “When we first accepted this mission, we were aware of the related risks but we were, and we still are, convinced that the cause deserves to be defended. Today, we look into the future. The crew is safe, the trimaran will be repatriated and we all agree on the fact that the expedition and its fight, must continue. Without the boat, every member of the Race for Water team is ready to stand up for this important cause and each of us is an Ambassador. We are going to join the land teams on the remaining stopovers as soon as the trimaran will be shipped back to Europe. Plastic pollution in the ocean is a real environmental disaster we witnessed every day when waking up in the middle of the Ocean, and it is crucial that we carry on the project. Only this way, our misfortune will not be a vain attempt.”
Despite the faced difficulties, the motivation increases tenfold for the Race for Water Odyssey teams.
The crew is going to take part, without the ambassador boat, in the remaining stopovers of the environmental project of the Race for Water Foundation. In the meanwhile the land teams have not stopped working: After a stopover in Rodrigues, where the team once more witnessed an alarming amount of plastic pollution, the crew will go the Cape Town (12th to 18th of October), to Rio de Janeiro (4th to 12th November) before going back to Bordeaux, to finish the project.
Click here for more information about the stopover in Rodrigues and the capsize.
Click here for more information about the Race for Water Odyssey.
About the Race for Water Odyssey
Initiated by the Race for Water foundation, the “Race for Water Odyssey” is a unique expedition that aims to draw up the first global assessment of plastic pollution in the ocean by visiting island beaches situated in the 5 trash vortexes. In less than 300 days, over 40,000 nautical miles will be traveled, punctuated by 11 scientific stopovers and 9 outreach stopovers, involving a total of 13 countries. The objective of the expedition is twofold: on the one hand, the goal is to compile a human and environmental assessment of the current state of plastic pollution in the oceans, thanks to scientific and sociological investigations. On the other hand, the expedition wants to raise awareness about the issue of plastic pollution in the ocean in order to bring together the general public, industries, and legislators together against this issue. The Race for Water Odyssey benefits from the support of ISAF, Duke University, Oregon State University, senseFly, Swisscom and Swissnex.
