Route Saint Pierre Lorient - Pure Ocean Challenge underway
by Robin Clegg 15 Jun 2021 11:05 BST
The second annual transatlantic Route Saint Pierre Lorient - Pure Ocean Challenge has set off from the French overseas territory of St Pierre and Miquelon heading to Lorient, France.
Four-times Transat Jacques Vabre winner Jean-Pierre Dick aims to better his time of last year when he beat French sailing legend Eric Tabarly's 33 year-old record for the crossing.
Jean-Pierre Dick's JP54 - Ville de Nice is also helping advance understanding of ocean health by releasing scientific drifter buoys along the way. One of these will contribute to Pure Ocean's science project in the Labrador Sea, between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans and a region critical for climate regulation.
Jean-Pierre Dick said: "Last year we were fortunate to encounter good sailing conditions and followed a natural path of depressions to beat Eric Tabarly's time by one and a half days.
"Whilst my crew want to improve on last year's result, we're proud to have the opportunity to combine the sport of sailing with ocean research and raising awareness of the need to protect our precious marine environment."
In 2020, Jean-Pierre Dick made the 2150nm crossing in his 54ft carbon composite canting keel yacht in eight days, 12 hours and 16 minutes, beating the time of 10 days, 1 hour and 31 minutes set by Eric Tabarly.
Pure Ocean supports innovative research projects that contribute to the protection of fragile marine ecosystems and biodiversity whilst also organising events to raise public understanding of the critical situation our ocean faces.
It finances ten global projects including initiatives examining changes in ocean temperature and biodiversity, microplastics in marine life and a Mediterranean project to establish a network of artificial floating reefs produced using 3D printers.
David Sussmann, founder of Pure Ocean, said: "We're thrilled to be able to deliver the second Pure Ocean Challenge and continue our vital work to increase our understanding of the issues affecting our seas in collaboration with some of sailing's finest competitors."
Eric Oliver, Assistant Professor in Physical Oceanography at Dalhousie University is working with Pure Ocean on the Labrador Sea science project.
He said: "Ocean currents are critical in setting the distribution of ocean temperatures, sea ice, productivity and species. Yet it can be one of the most difficult ocean features to observe directly. One way in which we can observe ocean currents is through surface ocean drifters which relay their position via satellite, telling us about where the ocean flows."
Offshore sailor Philippe Paturel, founder and president of Route Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, has co-organised the second edition of the challenge and said that he is proud that the event is becoming a fixture on the international sailing calendar whilst also helping marine conservation.
After the arrival in Lorient, the Pure Ocean Foundation will be meeting with key marine stakeholders and business leaders to talk about Pure Ocean's mission and explore new funding streams for its work.
Jean-Philippe Cau, president of Lorient Grand Large, said: ''Lorient is delighted to welcome the participants in the Pure Ocean Challenge. The protection of our planet needs to be taken seriously and we need to see decisive action. There are many warning signals and our sailors are sending a clear message that these issues are really important to them."
You can follow their progress here and find out more about the challenge here.