By Chan Reis, Green Team chair

For the past few race cycles, Newport Bermuda Race organizers have steadily increased the effort to make the race a Clean Regatta by the standards of Sailors for the Sea. In the last completed race, in 2018, the race’s Green Team earned gold-level certification by adopting 19 of 26 best practices recommended by Sailors for the Sea at the time.

But in addition, in 2022, our Newport Bermuda “Green Team” is deepening its work by taking a new tack that could be equated to a “pull” marketing strategy—with members of the racing crews doing the pulling!

Most sailors are already disposed to being good stewards of the environment. It seemed likely we would accrue a willing audience for clean regatta messages, but the question was how to activate and energize them?    

Two other observations influenced our Green Team thinking: 

First is the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee’s (BROC) approach to safety. In the lead-up to the cancelled 2020 race, Mark Lenci, who led the safety-at-sea training, said that the objective was to infuse a “safety ethos” on Bermuda Race sailors. It occurred to me that we could work on creating a similar mindset, infusing a kind of “environmental ethos.”  Mark helped do it with realistic training.  Maybe, we would do it with awareness and some new tools.  

The second observation is the idea of the “big lever.”  What could we do with our limited resources and time to have the most impact? Could we go beyond just promoting any single green boating activity like a beach clean-up or reducing single-use plastic? 

Starting with the Notice of Race (NoR)

For any sailboat race, the NoR is the top-level expression on the management and conduct of the event. It seemed the ideal place for the OA to “pick up the gauntlet” on the next level of sustainability. BROC, which has been strongly supportive of the Green Team efforts, recognized that unlike the Sailing Instructions (SI) which are published only days before the start, the NoR is a long-horizon document published a full year in advance. This would give stakeholders plenty of time to plan and execute a “clean” or “cleaner” regatta. 

Following this logic, this language below was added in our 2022 NoR dated June 2, 2021:

2.7 Cognizant of the need for environmental stewardship, the OA endeavors to operate the race as a “Clean Regatta” executing to the greatest extent possible any and all best practices as defined by “Sailors for the Sea” in its Clean Regatta program (https://www.sailorsforthesea.org/). All competitors should plan to promote and adopt a “leave‐no‐trace” approach while at sea, and during events while ashore in Newport and Bermuda. The OA seeks the cooperation of all competitors and support personnel including vendors in reducing waste before, during, and at the conclusion of the event.   See RRS 47. [NP]

Introducing the Onboard Environmental Steward (“E-steward”) 

The element of the program that has been key to building a formidable GreenTeam is the idea of an assignable crew position called “environmental steward.” We believe it also holds the greatest potential impact.

The idea of the “e-steward” is not so unusual. Corporate entities of all types (including shipping) have officers overseeing environmental objectives and compliance. 

In the world of offshore sailboat racing, the skipper has ultimate responsibility for the safety of the crew and the soundness of the ship. It seemed most appropriate to shift environmental sustainability objectives to skippers and, by extension, to the crew. The overarching rationale is that it may be the most effective, is in the interest of the sport, and would be key to Bermuda Race sustainability over time. 

The concept of the E-steward is energized and enabled in the following ways:

• Offshore sailboat racing attracts a number of individuals who are formally educated or professionally engaged in ocean conservation, or in corporate enterprises where sustainability is a higher priority than ever before.

• SailGate’s crew management tool gives skippers an easy way to delegate crew positions. The assignable position “Environmental Steward,” like “Navigator,” was easily added to a drop-down menu for managing the crew roster. 

• The “enthusiasm factor”—amateur competitive sailboat racing is known for generating an abundance of enthusiasm among skippers and crew. Sailing fast and taking-on challenges is commonplace, whether it’s stopping-up a spinnaker, driving the boat, helping the navigator identify an object on the horizon, or aiding the cook in preparing a meal during foul weather. 

Who is on the Green Team?

The Green Team are the 50+ onboard “environmental stewards''—mostly amateur sailors who have taken on the responsibility of being the onboard focal points for sustainable practices. Let’s meet a few of them:

Tucker Sylvia - Environmental Steward, Aurora

This is Tucker’s first Newport Bermuda Race. He’s a civilian scientist and oceanographer working with the U.S. Navy and was one of the first “e-stewards” to be named in this year’s race. He lives in Jamestown, R.I.

• “Every boat should already be practicing these ideas, but calling it out explicitly and designating a person to be responsible for that is important. I think it adds awareness. By every boat having a person—and even if every boat doesn’t have an E-steward—knowing that the program exists allows more active and conscious effort into preserving the ocean.”  

Gretchen Biemesderfer - Environmental Steward, Shearwater  

Gretchen is a former epidemiologist sailing in her fifth Newport Bermuda Race. Her husband Dan is a Bermuda Race veteran. It was their transatlantic race experience a few years ago that accelerated their green boating practices, which included installing a water-maker onboard.  They live in Guilford, Connecticut.

• “I think you have a responsibility to be cognizant of what’s discharging with respect to water—using dishwashing liquid and cleaners and shampoos that are environmentally friendly. I try to use brands like ‘7th Generation’ that are made without harsh chemicals.” 

Leif Heimbold - Environmental Steward - Momentum

Leif lives in Jamestown, R.I, and is an experienced sailor and producer of engineering, scientific, and technical videos for commercial clients. He was fascinated by Helly Hansen’s use of recycled plastics to make foul weather gear.

• “I think a lot of people who sail are environmentally responsible to begin with and are going to be able to do their part—and are happy to. They love the ocean as much as we do and want to take care of it. It’s important to keep track of plastics. Plastics getting into the water cause so much pollution, so much trouble all over the world—we need to keep an eye on that. Everyone has to do their part.”

Ella - Environmental Steward - Wassail 

Age 16, rising high school senior; dinghy sailor, sailing her first Bermuda Race; she has cruised from Maine to Caribbean with her grandparents, Nicholas and Phyllis Orem on Wassail. Her father and brother will also join the crew.

• “I jumped on that opportunity when my grandfather threw it out there. I am very interested in environmental science. In living, I try to keep my impact fairly low. I have a lot of little ideas. Mostly, just making sure we are not using plastic wraps—there are nice substitutes like ‘Bee's wax’ wraps. We’re also using reusable Tupperware and reef-safe sunscreen.

• “I think it won’t be too hard having a chat with everyone on board. Although I’m the youngest and also the only girl on the boat, I feel like, I can say, ‘Guys, listen up!  This is what we’re doing!’    

Dave Johnson -  Environmental Steward - Safir

Dave has had a mix of sailing and racing experience, both locally and offshore. He has also worked as a corporate executive with companies that are laser-focused on energy efficiency and sustainable power solutions. Dave helped the Green Team answer the question what is an e-steward supposed to do? He did this by drafting recommended guidance for environmental stewards which we have posted on our sustainability page.  Business experience has taught him the importance of drafting a strategy, communicating the elements of a plan, getting buy-in from all stakeholders, and adjusting as needed.  

Annie Longo - Green Team Member

Annie is an experienced sailor and a recent graduate in environmental studies who wrote her thesis on ocean plastic pollution.  She raced in the 2018 Newport Bermuda Race with the Mudratz youth team and helped lead Dreamcatcher’s sustainability effort. Annie has not lined-up a boat this year, but remains a champion and leader of the Green Team—building awareness, sharing her experience with best practices, and helping to organize beach clean-ups in Newport and Bermuda. 

Drawing on her 2018 experience, she said  “We had a huge emphasis on making the boat and the program as environmentally aware and conscious as possible.”

What are the Green Teams’ goals?   

The primary goal of the Green Team is to help leverage the influence of a coalition of amateur sailors and professional stakeholders, building awareness, promoting green boating/clean regatta best practices, and building tools and expertise.

• In the all-important data collection area, the Green Team is urging sailors to download and use the NOAA Marine Debris Tracker, a smartphone app that allows the tracking of marine debris like balloons, plastics or derelict fishing gear. Clean Ocean Access, an ocean conservation organization based in Rhode Island, is the data collection point for our 2022 Newport Bermuda Race.

• We have also added a tool on our sustainability page that allows all sailors to upload and link tips, ideas, plans or photos that help get sailors further energized in these efforts.

• Last but not least, our Green Team hopes to share the lessons learned and approaches with other race organizing authorities and yacht clubs, and to learn from their practices as well.

Final Observations

The Newport Bermuda Race is a prestigious ocean race attracting some of the finest and most influential Corinthian sailors and professionals in the world. Together, they represent a powerful force for shaping, activating, and influencing policies and practices around ocean conservation—whether it’s reducing our dependence on single-use plastic or building circular economies around shrink wrap and recycled sails, 

If a skipper turns to you and says, “You’re going to be the navigator in our next race,” you're not given a set of instructions on how to be a navigator. The same is true with the environmental steward. There is no handbook, but there are many resources and a lot of home-grown inventiveness in our sailing community. 

“Our mission is to inspire, educate, and activate sailors and boaters from around the world to take action to protect our oceans and waterways,” said Shelley Brown, the director of our Newport Bermuda Race resource partner, Sailors for the Sea, Powered by Oceana”.

The Newport Bermuda Race is working to follow this lead.