The Volvo Ocean Race has enjoyed a layover in Capetown, South Africa and the crews are preparing to start leg three on Sunday. Whilel ashore, Team AkzoNobel star Martine Grael reflected on the opening legs of the race – as she goes diving with rescued turtles in Cape Town
“I don’t think I went through a single watch without seeing plastic in the ocean”
But this time, it’s not onboard the boat that will be the Olympic gold medalist’s home for the next forty-odd thousand miles. We’re at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, and she’s about to go free-diving with rescued turtles affected by plastic pollution.
“We’ve seen a lot of wildlife from onboard team AkzoNobel on the first two legs, particularly around the coast of Spain and Portugal,” she explains. “It’s amazing – a lot of whales, dolphins, and monkfish. Unfortunately, we also saw a lot of plastic. Even just from a performance point of view, you have to keep an eye on it – we hit a lot of it, and got it caught on the keel.” Read more.
