Three days of festivities in Lorient for the Race for Water Odyssey

by Race For Water on 23 Mar 2017 The festivities begin on Thursday, April 6. The vessel, Race for Water, leaves Lorient on April 9, 2017. The Race For Water team is busy at the Morbihan harbour of Lorient, making sure that everything is ready for a great party when it is time to cast off.

Three days of festivities are planned in La Base, Lorient, to celebrate the start of the five-year expedition. From April 7-9, Race for Water, will be centre stage as the guest of honour at the L’Orient Nautic, the South Brittany boat show. To mark the occasion, Race for Water will welcome the general public on board on Saturday April 8, with 45-minute guided tours. Four sessions of 25 people each will be organised from 10:00, subject to reservation.

Inside, the public will discover a 100m² exhibition showing the role of the Race for Water Foundation in the preservation of our oceans and the proposed solutions for “waste valorisation”. There will also be a focus on the scientific work carried out on board and on the renewable energies used for the propulsion and living on this exceptional vessel. Race for Water is powered solely by the sun, wind and water, thanks to its 500m² of solar panels fitted on the upper deck, coupled with a hydrogen production unit and a high-altitude kite.

The combination of these technologies means Race for Water is 100% energy self-sufficient and creates no CO² or fine particle emissions. The exhibition will be seen by the classes of CM1 / CM2 from the school in Sourn in an advance preview on Thursday, April 6, as well as the elected representatives of the Lorient Agglo (Morbihan council) who have been invited on board on Friday, April 7, for the opening ceremony of the L’Orient Nautic, the Bretagne Sud Mini (Southern Brittany Mini), and the launch of the Odyssey.

Finally, the crew of Race for Water will give the press a tour of the boat on Saturday, April 8 at 18:00 (French time). There will be a press conference on Sunday, April 9 at 11:30 at the Cité de la Voile Eric Tabarly (the Eric Tabarly sailing centre), followed by lunch and a sail in Lorient bay to witness the first nautical miles of this incredible Odyssey.

Race for Water will then head for the first stop on its voyage, Bermuda, to coincide with the America's Cup.

Race for Water, 100% self-sufficient with clean energy, will leave its home port of Lorient on a five-year expedition around the globe, with the core mission of preserving the oceans. Through this Odyssey, the Race for Water Foundation has set itself four major objectives: to promote innovative solutions capable of transforming plastic waste into energy resources, to accelerate energy transition through the development of the hybrid solar-hydrogen propulsion of the vessel, to contribute to science by hosting international research teams, and to make decision-makers and the general public more aware of the urgency of ocean conservation.