Sailors take part in mangrove clean-up at Hempel World Cup Series Miami

Olympic class sailors teamed up with the local community in Miami to deliver a mangrove clean-up at Hempel World Cup Series Miami.

Organised by World Sailing, US Sailing and local organisation SendIt4TheSea, representatives from all three groups teamed up with sailors as well as children from local yacht clubs to pick up rubbish from the mangrove next to the US Sailing Centre.

SendIt4TheSea recorded the volume of plastic and other waste collected from the area and weighed each bag. In total, the group collected 295kg (650lbs) of waste.

Dan Reading, Head of Sustainability for World Sailing, joined the clean-up and commented, "It was great to have a range of sailors from local youth to Olympians all joining forces to clean the mangrove area adjacent to the Hempel World Cup Series Venue.

"I was amazed at the volume of plastic that was retrieved by the volunteers today; at the same time as there being a sense of achievement, there is also a profound sense of scale of the challenge.

"What was great to see was the enthusiasm and training given to the youth participating to stop using single-use plastic, as many of the items picked up were everyday plastic objects."

Also participating was Meredith Brody, US Sailing's Olympic Director and Regatta Co-Chair, who added, "We love incorporating sustainability into US Sailing events.

"The clean-up here is the perfect opportunity to engage the sailors and local community in doing our part for the oceans.

"It was great having the local youth sailors shoulder-to-shoulder with the Olympic athletes."

The mangrove clean-up is part of the ongoing sustainability efforts at the event. On Friday 17th January, World Sailing joined forces with the University of Miami and Hempel to embark on a coral reef restoration expedition.

The Hempel World Cup Series here in Miami starts on Sunday 19th January with registration. Racing will commence on Monday 20th January.