Water sampling a hit with charter sailors - would that work here?

11:07 PM Sun 14 Feb 2010 GMT

'Relax with a yachting holiday and help the battle against climate change at the same time' .

A USA based company that arranges yachting vacations is finding their water sampling vs. carbon offset project - an attempt to 'do their bit' in the battle against climate change - is a hit with their sailing customers. At Sail-World Cruising we have to wonder if this would also work in Australia...

Carol Kent, of Carol Kent Yacht Charters in Marblehead, in the eastern state of Massachusetts in the US, wondered if there was any way that their company could hope to reduce its ecological footprint, and set about finding an answer.

'We have been arranging yacht charters for 25 years,' she explained. 'Our business depends on the ocean. We have a responsibility to do all we can to protect this water planet.'

So, a few months back, Kent shared her concerns about the state of the ocean with environmental educator Christopher Swain. Swain, who is swimming over 1,500 miles down the East Coast of the USA to Washington D.C., suggested that Kent focus her efforts on two broad areas: reducing the carbon footprint of her yacht-charter business and adding to the body of knowledge needed to measure the effects of climate change.

This approach appealed to Kent, who said, 'We want to be part of the solution.'

With Kent's encouragement, Swain developed a product that combines a carbon offset with water-sampling activity designed to measure and chart the effects of climate change on the ocean.

The resulting 'H2Offsets,' are quickly getting popular with Kent's customers. Charter clients now have a way to balance the impact of the fuel they burn and sponsor personalized water-sampling expeditions that give scientists, educators and researchers data they need to help solve the climate crisis.

The water-sampling campaign, designed by an advisory team of educators and scientists, involves measuring sea-surface temperatures and pH at thousands of locations along the East Coast of the United States and embedding the results into publicly searchable online maps - a project headquartered at OneHealthyOcean.org.

'It is not enough to balance the impact of burning marine fuel,' said Kent. 'We need to protect the ocean and advance the search for solutions. We are the only yacht charter company in the world with an environmental program like this, and our clients love it.'

To date, Carol Kent Yacht Charters has purchased 100 H2Offsets - enough to balance the impact of 100 tons of carbon dioxide and to sponsor 100 ocean water-sampling data sets.

When Kent's clients purchase H2Offsets, they don't just get a thank-you letter and a certificate. They get to name an online data map of water-sampling results after whomever they choose.

Said Kent, 'This lets people show their kids that you can take a great vacation and protect the ocean at the same time. It's a win-win: We are adding to the body of knowledge needed to safeguard the marine web of life, and we are setting an example for an entire business sector.'

Enjoying a yachting vacation and still helping the environment - .. .

The One Healthy Ocean Campaign grew out of the ocean water-sampling activity Swain is conducting as part of his Swim for a Healthy World.

'We had originally planned to take 5,000 ocean-water samples as part of the swim,' Swain said. 'Once we realized that schools and government agencies were following our work and looking at our data, we decided to expand the effort. We started looking for partners, and Carol Kent Yacht Charters turned out to be a great match. They are an ocean-based business that wants to fuel the search for solutions. We hope more businesses get involved.'

For more information about Carol Kent Yacht Charters, click HERE

For more information about the One Healthy Ocean Campaign, click HERE

by Nancy Knudsen