Multihull Cup sailors certainly handle all the twists and turns of high performance catamaran machines, but they’re also racing to restore the health of the ocean to preserve the sport for decades to come.
The Multihull Cup is a registered Sailors for the Sea Clean Regatta, it’s the world’s only environmental certification system for water-based events. Our team takes concrete steps to make the regatta cleaner and greener, and this year we’re delighted to announce our efforts are paying off.
The days of downing plastic water bottles on the racecourse are long gone. In five years alone, Clean Regattas around the world have prevented 6.9 million plastic water bottles, and 1.7 million plastic straws from polluting our oceans.
Shelly Brown is Director of Sailors for the Sea, and says sailors are ideally positioned to be advocates and leaders.
“It’s very exciting to see that sustainability and a focus on ocean health is now at the forefront of many regattas around the world,”said Brown.
You might be wondering how we manage to do it, at a sailing regatta in the scorching summer sun with about 100 guests a day? The answer is – teamwork. Rigging Projects has stepped up once again to make our regatta more sustainable and sponsor Clean Waves gigantic refillable water station.
Tobias Hochreutener, Rigging Projects Managing Director said, “Through our work, locally and far afield, we have witnessed the destructive nature of mankind and its effects on our oceans.
“There is nothing more shocking and depressing than being called to our clients yachts, in some remote locations such as Indonesia, and finding the boat anchored in sea of litter. They don’t show that in the Holiday Brochures!”
You can’t miss the XXL 600 litre water station called the Rocket, standing by to blast the thirsts of sailors and spectators. The Rocket is supplied by Cleanwave Foundation, a Mallorca based non-profit dedicated to minimising single-use plastic and making drinking water more accessible.
They have refill points across the island, and their initiatives have prevented consumption of 7.5 million plastic water bottles to date.
Elena Fensie is Cleanwave’s Community Manager. She says the majority of rubbish on Mallorca’s beaches is plastic.
“Not only does this affect marine life through ingestion, suffocation and entanglement; micro plastics are entering the human body by drinking bottled water and eating seafood, which causes different health issues such as inflammation, genotoxicity, oxidative stress and more,” said Fensie.
Rigging Projects will also sponsor specially selected reusable water bottles for our competitors. The Ocean Bottle is part stainless steel and part ocean-bound recycled plastic. That’s the plastic that litters coastlines and gets flushed out to sea unless someone intervenes.
Every Ocean Bottle bought funds the collection of 1000 plastic bottles in weight. That’s a sustainable ethos we are happy to stand behind, and a bottle we’re proud to put our logo alongside Rigging Projects.
“We are all reliant on healthy oceans and the more this sentiment is at the forefront of peoples minds, the better,” said Hochreutener
Another exciting step we’re taking to keep our oceans clean and healthy is a connection with the Save the Med Foundation. This Mallorca based organisation works tirelessly to recover and rejuvenate the rich biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea.
Their environmental projects include managing marine protected areas, safeguarding vulnerable species, and joining forces with people and companies to work towards a Plastic Free Balearics. The MHC team is organising a fundraiser to help support Save the Med’s incredible work.
The MHC Team is grateful for the role everyone plays in protecting the beautiful island of Mallorca and our oceans across the globe. We’re looking forward to seeing our multihulls clean up on the race course and beyond at this year’s cup.
By Dawn MacPhee
