Tuesday 21 February 2023

Rowers set for 2,800-mile journey to save the planet

Three rowers from Norwich are looking to travel 2,800 miles, travelling straight through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and raising money to clean up the world’s oceans.

Matt Siely, Cutu Serruys and Luca Feser will make the voyage from California to Hawaii in a boat from eEnergy, to raise funds for non-profit Ocean Cleanup.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has a surface area three times the size of France and represents the largest accumulation of ocean plastic anywhere on Earth. There are an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic currently floating in the patch.

Net zero services provider eEnergy has sponsored the expedition, which Luca Feser explained began after the trio fell in love with the waterways in Norwich.

He said: “It will be a tough expedition, with six weeks of rowing as we cross two time zones, directly through one of the world’s most polluted stretches of ocean.

“It’s hard to grasp how large these floating garbage patches are – especially because most of us will never see one for ourselves.

“Thanks to eEnergy and our supporters, we are excited to be able to shine a spotlight on plastic pollution in our oceans and the need to look after our planet by cleaning up our oceans and moving to net zero emissions as fast as possible.”

“Their herculean effort to help clean up the oceans and create a greener world can act as a sign for everyone in society that we can achieve net zero, as long as we collectively choose to take action,” added eEnergy Chief Executive Harvey Sinclair.