I don’t often publish press releases but this is such a great campaign with WWF SA & Cape2Rio 2020 Competitor, Love Water. They’re encouraging South Africans to tackle plastic waste in the ocean. In support of the campaign, retailer Homechoice, sponsor of Love Water, signs landmark South African Plastics Pact to combat plastic waste in the ocean.
Cape Town (January 2020)
At a launch event in Cape Town on Wednesday evening 8 January 2020, WWF South Africa and 2020 Cape2Rio yacht race entrant ‘Love Water’ announced that they are joining forces to highlight the problem of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
An epic campaign on the water
The Cape2Rio – the Southern Hemisphere’s premier sailing event – is a trans-Atlantic crossing from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro. With a majority South African sailing crew, Love Water has set itself two goals: to break the Cape2Rio race record of 11 days set by rival vessel Maserati, and to promote environmental awareness around the impact of plastic pollution on marine life while doing so.
Highlighting plastic waste on the high seas
Paying tribute to their lucky number being eight, the Love Water team, which consists of eight crew members, has set their sights on a record-breaking eight-day race, while using social media and other digital channels to share eight stories about marine plastic pollution during their voyage in support of the WWF’s “8 Reasons to make a Difference for our Oceans” awareness campaign which is part of WWF SA’s ongoing effort to educate the public about reducing plastic waste in our environment.
The Love Water team will end their trip with a Commitment Day to share what they’ve learnt and seen about plastic pollution during the crossing and make their own pledges to do something about it.
A unique pact to fight waste, beyond the Cape 2 Rio race
The sponsor of the Love Water team, JSE-listed retailer HomeChoice International Ltd, also signed the South African Plastics Pact which brings together businesses, governments and NGO’s to address plastic waste and pollution issues.
The South African Plastics Pact is the first African Plastics Pact to join the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact network of national and regional initiatives that share a commitment to fighting plastic pollution.
In support of this initiative: “The Western Cape Government wishes the Love Water team all the best for a safe and successful Cape2Rio race. Plastic pollution is a major global problem and we thank the team for their efforts in raising environmental awareness of this problem. We need people globally, and across the Southern African region to become conscious of their use of plastic, and to take responsibility for looking after our planet and its future” said Western Cape Premier Alan Winde.
“We are very excited for the upcoming race and would like to use the platform to promote environmental awareness around the devastating crisis of ocean pollution that is threatening our beautiful marine life. Plastic waste starts on land and it is time for all of us to join the global movement in using less plastic,” added Craig Sutherland, Skipper of Love Water.
Pavitray Pillay, Environmental Behaviour Change Manager with WWF South Africa, said: “We are delighted to be working with Love Water to bring home an important message about the scourge of plastic in environment. We also wish the Love Water team well for the journey ahead. The ocean plays an important part of all our lives. We need to work together to fight the rising tide of pollution in our seas.”
Rick Garratt, Founder of HomeChoice International Ltd, said: “We are thrilled to be supporting Love Water in this record attempt and in so doing to highlight the pollution of our oceans and water. Beyond this race, with the help of WWF, as a company we are committed to reducing our use of plastics in 2020 by signing the SA Plastics Pact and we urge other corporates to follow suit.’’
More on Love Water
Love Water is an 80-foot, trimaran, skippered by Craig Sutherland, arrived in Cape Town on 12 December after a 14 000km delivery voyage from Portimao, Portugal, via Brazil, to the Mother City. The vessel will be berthed at the V&A Waterfront until 11 January 2020 while making final preparations to take part in the Cape2Rio race.
Love Water is manned by professional sailors with 11 Rio races under their belts. The Love Water core South African crew includes Ken Venn, Phil Lambrecht, Mike Clarke, Mike Minkley, Rick Garratt (founder of HomeChoice International Ltd) and Craig Sutherland, all hailing from Cape Town.
Completing the full team is Frenchman, Antoine Rabaste, as well as Brit, Brian Thompson. Follow #LoveWater’s progress at https://my.yb.tl/lovewater and the social media channels of both #LoveWater and the WWF SASSI account on Instagram @WWFSASSI to learn more about plastic pollution and to track the yacht’s progress.
About WWF South Africa
WWF South Africa is a national office that is part of the WWF network. We are a local NGO that for 50 years has worked towards the aim of inspiring all South Africans to live in harmony with nature, for the benefit of our country and the well-being of all our people.
