An organisation set up to find, develop and promote more sustainable practices in sailing and the marine industry has strengthened its team with the news that four-time Paralympian and world champion sailor, Hannah Stodel, is its latest ambassador.
Clean Sailors was set up in 2020 to create new standards of cleaner sailing within the global marine community, to campaign on legislative issues and to promote education and conservation opportunities specific to sailing as well as the wider marine ecosystem.
Partnering with Hannah showcases the organisation’s determination to encourage all fellow sailors – both professional and recreational – to motivate their global sailing community to contribute to the better protection and preservation of the oceans.
Sailor Holly Manvell, who set up Clean Sailors after witnessing first-hand the amount of rubbish and debris floating in the sea, is delighted to have Hannah on board.
Holly said: “Partnering with Clean Sailors underlines Hannah’s commitment to promoting a cleaner standard in sailing, and in inspiring every sailor to become an ocean ambassador.
“To have a sailor such as Hannah, already known for using her voice for greater change, join our team is just awesome. That she is committed to using her profile to help raise awareness of what we are trying to achieve and how important it is that our global sailing community strives protect our oceans, raises our game even further.”
Hannah, who is working towards becoming the first disabled female sailor to compete in the 2024 Vendee Globe said she was looking forward to working with Clean Sailors.
“Having been a professional sailor for all of my life, I am still astounded at how wasteful our industry can be, particularly on professional race circuits,” Hannah said.
“Each cycle, we build new boats – to be faster, more technical and more spectacular – without full regard for old machines and their components; the recyclability and circularity of the high-performance materials we use. Development without full regard for our oceans and our planet needs to be challenged.
“We can upcycle old boats, we can build truly recyclable boats, we can care about what we put into our oceans – we can make a difference, and that is why I am so, so proud to join Holly and Clean Sailors and use my voice to do just that.”
Hannah and Clean Sailors want to encourage other members of the sailing community to become ambassadors and help raise awareness of the issues facing the world’s oceans.
