Summer Sailstice partners, Sailors for the Sea, are continually doing their best to promote healthy oceans through educating and inspiring sailors to engage in environmentally sustainable practices. Well, we’ve just heard that the organizers of this year’s Quantum Key West Race Week are aligning the event with Sailors for the Sea’s Clean Regattas Program.
The Storm Trysail Club which took over the management of Quantum Key West Race Week last year are aiming to achieve the Clean Regattas’ “Bronze” level certification, through implementing several of the Clean Regattas' 25 best practices.
Event chairman, John Fisher, said sailors should try to minimize their impact on the environment. “The Storm Trysail Club believes strongly in the Clean Regatta Program and is committed to doing everything possible to minimize the environmental footprint of our events.”
This is not the first Clean Regattas event hosted by Storm Trysail Club. The success of implementing Clean Regattas practices into the 2015 Block Island Race Week resulted in organizers unanimously agreeing it was a “positive step,” which could be carried on the the Quantum Key West Race Week.
Storm Trysail Club Commodore, Lee Reichart, said this was the first time in the history of the Quantum Key West Race Week, that the Clean Regattas Program was being implemented.
“We are committed to work towards higher levels of certification in the future since this is an important alignment with the principles of our permit to respect the ecosystems in the waters of the National Marine Sanctuary off of Key West,” he said.
The regatta's practices will include the use of refillable water containers by all volunteers and race committee personnel, controlled garbage collection and shipping to disposal facilities specializing in manufacturing reusable products, plus creating awareness of oil and gasoline spills.
Event site manager, Bill Canfield said they hope to completely eliminate plastic bottles for next year’s event.
“Our goal is to do more and more each year to meet the standards set by Sailors for the Sea,” he said. “Once you begin to work with the folks at Sailors for the Sea they help you find additional ways to be environmentally conscious.”
Since its inception in 2006, the Clean Regattas program has helped over 800 events reduce their environmental impacts on our oceans. In 2015 alone, 38,000 sailors at 189 regattas in 14 countries participated in the program.
Sailors for the Sea, Sustainability Director, Robyn Albritton, who will be attending Quantum Key West Race Week to help organizers implement the Clean Regattas program, said they are proud to be involved with the race week for the first time in the event’s long history.
“We are thrilled the event organizers have dedicated their efforts to reducing the event's environmental impact, and are working to protect the beautiful waters they race in which are part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary,” Albritton said.
So if you think sailors can’t make a difference, think again. We all contribute to the problem, we can all contribute to the solution.
Sign up for Summer Sailstice, and while you’re there, subscribe to Sailors for the Sea, and help yourself to help others help the ocean.
