”Cleaning Sailing Race” regatta

The Sunce Association is a partner in the campaign for the preservation of water and the Adriatic Sea as a part of Biotherm Water Lovers program, which will include a Cleaning Sailing Race regatta – an action to remove waste from beaches and the sea

Cleaning Sailing Race regatta with about 140 participants distributed on 10 sailing boats starts on April 11, 2022 at 9 am from Marina Kaštela to the bays located on the islands of Šolta and Drvenik Veli.

Joined forces of Sunce and Biotherm Association, with the help of the Vodan Yachting Academy skippers, Adriatic Sailing charter company boats, Müller, Martinis Marchi hotel and marina employees, we organize a large campaign of cleaning the seabed and beaches from waste – Cleaning Sailing Race.

Participants
In addition to employees, members, and volunteers of the Sunce Association, the regatta will be attended by representatives of all the mentioned partners and associates, as well as representatives of the City of Split, the Split Tourist Board, the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.

The importance of the Cleaning Sailing Race has also been recognized by PIK Mornar, RC Draulik Milna, and the Oceanus Student Association, which will join us in the underwater diving campaign to remove waste.

CRO SEA CLEAN APP
The collected waste will be listed according to the Protocol for the implementation of projects for cleaning the marine environment and coastal area from marine waste in the territory of the Republic of Croatia using the CRO SEA CLEAN APP application. The protocol benefits all citizens, citizens’ associations, and public authorities in the actions for the cleaning of waste from the sea. After the inventory, the waste will be disposed of by the utility company Basilija d.o.o.

In order to protect our sea, it is not enough to periodically remove waste from beaches, it is important to prevent its formation. It is estimated that about 80% of marine litter comes from the mainland, and due to inadequate marine litter management, 13,000 tons of plastic end up in the sea every day. Monitoring the type of waste, the origin of waste, and the places where it accumulates is important for the establishment of functional management systems, both for waste and the marine environment

Cleaning Sailing Race – a race against time
The Cleaning Sailing Race will also be an opportunity to educate employees in the nautical sector on the importance of developing sustainable nautical tourism. The training will cover the topics of the impact of waste on the marine ecosystem and bring boaters closer to the importance and purpose of environmentally friendly anchoring. During this campaign, emphasis will also be placed on the preservation of the Posidonia oceanica meadows.

It is estimated that 1 hectare of this flowering plant removes the same amount of carbon dioxide as 15 hectares of the Amazon rainforest. For years, the Sunce Association has been advocating for better regulation and control of anchoring above the Posidonia meadows and is currently implementing the “Become a Posidonia Keeper” campaign.

Public interest and awareness of the need to protect and preserve the Adriatic Sea is growing, and the response to such and similar activities shows that the desire for change among citizens and many stakeholders exists. The number of our members who support us in this and many other activities and support the work of the Association in various ways is constantly growing.

Being a member of the Sunce means being part of the story of nature and environmental protection in Croatia and the region, and only by working together can we do something good for the society to which we belong.

Source: otoci.eu