Clean Regattas at the America's Cup - Sailors for the Sea

Clean Regattas at the America’s Cup

 September 6, 2012  | By: Oceana

Speed on! Photo by ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget

The America’s Cup World Series in San Francisco continued the strong legacy of Clean Regattas with the 34th America’s Cup, striving for a gold level certification and presenting innovative techniques for reducing the events carbon footprint. In addition to many of the Best Practices they have implemented in the past, some of the highlights include:

  • The Healthy Ocean Project beach cleanup held on August 19 had 180 volunteers. With 360 hours volunteered, more than 75 bags of trash and recyclable items were picked up from Fort Baker. That is approximately 2,250 pounds of trash and recyclables removed; that is the same weigh as 17 Laser class boats!
  • All sailing teams were required to and used reusable water bottles.
  • The America’s Cup Event Authority distributed 2,725 gallons of water on site, which prevented the use of 20,640 single-use plastic bottles. Broken down, that is equal to 413 bathtubs full of water!
  • Seafood Watch Best Choice – was the only seafood served
  • On site composting – was in place throughout the site – see our recent blog post for more information on this great way to reduce waste.
  • Renewable energies – were used for the first time at an ACWS event. Audio on the main stage was powered by solar panels and a Biodiesel blend (B20) was used in generators to reduce fossil fuel consumption.
  • Plastic Film Collection -While making sure the crews safety comes first, those on the water have also been working hard and quickly to collect plastic film that breaks off the wings when a boat capsizes. If possible, it is recycled.
  • The event is working towards zero waste and carbon neutral commitments, which will be fully in place for 2013’s racing.

Check out the slideshow below for a few photographs of the Clean Regatta highlights!