Jon is sailing to help stop plastic pollution of the oceans (noplasticoceans.org), supported by the OCC Challenge Grant and Mindaroo Foundation. This report by Daria Blackwell for the OCC.

Published 5 years ago

This report from the OCC.

Honorary OCC member Jon Sanders left Fremantle on Sunday 3 November 2019 after having been farewelled by family and friends at Fremantle Sailing Club and then escorted out of the harbour by a sizable fleet of boats.

Australian sailing icon Jon Sanders AO OBE will attempt to circumnavigate the earth for the 11th time to raise awareness about the amount of plastic ending up in the world’s oceans and the devastating impact it is having on marine life and ocean lovers, like Jon himself.

At age 80 as of October, Jon’s voyage will take him between 9 and 12 months, sailing over 27000 nautical miles and stopping at 11 ports.

No Plastic Oceans

The voyage is an initiative of No Plastic Oceans, managed by Dr Stephen Davis in conjunction with Curtin University, Fremantle Sailing Club and Royal Perth Yacht Club. Jon will be measuring the quantity of microplastics in Southern Hemisphere oceans. Professor Kliti Grice and her team from Curtin University will be overseeing the microplastics research and will publish a report after the voyage detailing their findings. #NOPLASTICWASTE of the Mindaroo Foundation has joined forces with the team to support the research and awareness campaign.

The Directors and members of the Ocean Cruising Club wish Jon a safe and productive journey. We are proud to be on board in a small way with the first OCC Challenge Grant for a voyage of environmental significance. Jon is expected to arrive in Mauritius by the end of November. Several events to highlight plastic pollution are planned for his stopovers. Stay tuned for more details.

Jon is having some difficulty with AIS so we are unable to track him on the OCC Fleet Map at this time. Follow the voyage in real-time at www.jonsanders.com or make a donation at www.gofundme.com/jonsanders. To learn more about the No Plastic Oceans Project, follow the links below. You can also find more photos in the OCC Photo Gallery, which we will be updating throughout his voyage.

Related Links:

https://noplasticwaste.org/jon-sanders/

About the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC)

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.