As Vestas 11th Hour Racing cross the Atlantic, skipper Charlie Enright and team director Mark Towill reflect on Earth Day, a key topic for a team that has sustainability at its core.
“Can you tell me one of the things you love about planet Earth?”
Not the typical question I frequently ask to any bleary-eyed sailor, but Earth Day matters to this team.
Earth Day is a celebration of our wondrous planet and with it comes the message that ‘education is the foundation for progress’. The 2017 campaign focuses on environmental and climate literacy, as an informed citizen is a person capable of instigating meaningful change throughout our world.
© Rich Edwards/Volvo Ocean Race
Mark Towill and Charlie Enright are particularly passionate about the project, and with two sustainably-focused sponsors in Vestas and 11th Hour Racing, representing the vital elements of wind and water respectively, their joint goal is to lead through sustainability.. “Some of the things that make our planet special are how big it is, but also how small it is,” says Mark Towill. “There are a lot of us here and we need to look after it. To sail around the world is a privilege, and to see the amount of wildlife and the amount of pollution is really humbling. With that knowledge comes a deep sense of responsibility.
“In order to bring about change education is necessary. We’re excited to use the Volvo Ocean Race as an educational platform to bring further awareness and understanding to these issues.
We’re about to sail around an ice gate, and climate change is real, the ice gates of today are different to how they were many moons ago. Unless we can incite change we’re not going to see a change in action and a change in culture.
Charlie Enright
“By having Vestas and 11th Hour Racing as partners, we feel more environmentally aware. When you have children you want them to enjoy clean water and clean air. I’m always amazed at home after a storm how much plastic ends up on the beach. If we can change that it can only be good thing for the future”.
Happy Earth day everybody, there aren’t many things in life education can’t solve.
