On board ONE, the catamaran that loves the SEA

On board ONE, the catamaran that loves the SEA

C.hi loves the sea knows how important his health is, increasingly compromised by man’s actions. And, those who love the sea like the Caprera Sailing Center, he also knows how complex it is to monitor his ecosystem without being too invasive. This is why he thought of a concrete project to help his well-being, also educating young people, and not only, to treat him with respect.

The Mediterranean Sea and its health are at the heart of the MARE Project

The Center which, since 1967 in the frame of the La Maddalena Archipelago, has made itself known as the authoritative and most important sailing school in the Mediterranean, has welcomed and grown generation after generation, the sailors of yesterday and today, all in common from a single, great, teaching: respect for nature and for this fabulous and immense blue expanse called the sea and which covers 71% of the earth’s surface. With One Ocean Foundationwhich promotes the dissemination and research on oceans, has conceived SEA project (Marine Adventure for Research & Education), a citizen science sponsored by Yamamay, Polaroid Eyewear, Sorgenia And Synergie.

The ONE catamaran around the Mediterranean.

ONEthe traveling catamaran-laboratory

What is it about? Of a laboratory that comes to life on a 45-foot catamaran (obviously sailing), which is sailing the length and breadth of the Tyrrhenian Sea to map, through analysis, measurements and monitoring, the health of our waters, taking samples in 25 areas marine protected.

«We started from a simple idea – explains Paolo Bordogna, president of the Caprera Sailing Center – that is to use the ecological propulsion system par excellence, the wind, for a scientific project that puts the health of the sea at the center of its study. And that he did it with the lowest possible impact ». Their scientific activity, on the other hand, is explained to us by Ginevra Boldrocchi, the biologist coordinator of One Ocean Foundation we met in Marina D’Arechi, Salerno, in one of the stages of their tour. “We have focused our scientific protocol on some key themes – he explains – such as the collection of samples of zooplanktonic organisms, natural bioindicators of environmental pollution, to assess the presence and bioaccumulation of persistent contaminants in the Tyrrhenian Sea, but also on the monitoring of marine biodiversity , through environmental DNA sampling ».

The stages of the MARE Project, around the Tyrrhenian Sea.

We have also experienced what we do every day, guests on the catamaran for a day together with Barbara Cimmino, the Corporate Social Responsibility manager of Yamamay, main sponsor of the project. The activities are many, all coordinated by a young and close-knit team, united and driven by the same great love for the sea (and for its inhabitants). Alberto Radaelli, the skipper, who arrives from the Caprera Sailing Center, welcomes us with professionalism and the marine biologists of theUniversity of Insubria leave us speechless with their tales full of momentum that manage to make us seem exciting even uncommon scientific topics such as zooplankton, surveys and curious stories of alien species (you know that of blue crab?).

MARE project: what happens aboard ONE?

Once you get on the catamaran you immediately enter the heart of the project. The biologists explain the steps to us: we start with the netting, a technique used to collect marine plankton (and polluting microplastics) to know for sure how our sea is. But not only because environmental DNA sampling is also part of the project’s objectives: it is a technique that allows monitoring marine biodiversity. What does it mean in simpler words? We also asked for it and they explained that these are non-invasive analyzes to help us understand with certainty which species have crossed those waters, thanks to a pre-existing database. Did dolphins or sharks pass here? Thanks to this system we can understand their routes and habits.

After the withdrawals, we move on to storage in special refrigerators and to an initial analysis (not yet the scientific one which will then take place in the University laboratories) to show us the collection up close. But in these 12 weeks of navigation, in addition to surveys in the water, sightings with the naked eye or with binoculars were also important. The ONE catamaran met loggerhead turtles, dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, sea devils and dolphins!

The brochure that collects the various profiles of plankton present in the Mediterranean.

The digital microscope that allows you to see plankton up close via smartphone.

All together for a better future

What we understood by getting on board ONE is that unity is strength and that all of us, really all of us, can do something to safeguard the environment around us. A simple lesson that the partners of the initiative understood immediately. Yamamayfor example, recognized in SEA project the perfect representation of what the man-environment relationship should be for them too. Furthermore, the Neapolitan company is always working to search for new technologies capable of reducing the quantity of plastic, the use of chemicals and thus improving the quality and durability of swimwear over time. Their line Edit, for example, it is made 100% with fabrics created with plastic recovered from the oceans.

A costume from Yamamay’s Edit line made with recycled fibers.

Then, there is Polaroid Eyewearalways attentive to sustainability, who also thought of a collection of sunglasses – there are also floating ones with the logo of the Centro Velico Caprera – created with recycled and bio-based materials derived from natural resources such as bio polyamide composed of 50% from castor oil and eco-acetate derived from cotton cellulose.

The floating Polaroid glasses for the Caprera Sailing Center.

It’s still, Sorgeniathe first private company not incumbent in the free energy market which boasts seven wind farms, three plant biomass production plants (but not only) as well as a community of Greeners, employees and customers who espouse the cause of environmental activism. In the end Synergiethe international network that allows candidates and companies to find the opportunities they are looking for, all over the world.

Because the beauty of this project, after all, is based not only on the possibility of really doing something concrete but also lies in the passion of the people who are carrying it out. So thanks to the Caprera Sailing Center, at the One Ocean Foundation, to the brands that are supporting this beautiful initiative, but also in Geneva, Carlotta, Benedetta, Giulia, Alberto and all the other protagonists that we did not meet in our stage but who are taking part in the adventure of SEA project.: together we can do a lot.

Find out the next stops, go to greet them at the port and follow their adventures on instagram: @mare_project.

Source: Vanity Fair