SailGP will help encourage biodiversity in the waters around Saint-Tropez by partnering with the Marseille-based Pure Ocean Foundation on the development of its floating reef project.
The league’s support, which is part of its local impact project in the city, will be funded by the proceeds raised by the Saint-Tropez Adrenaline Night.
Pure Ocean Foundation is currently supporting a project developing a floating reef using biomimetic, eco-designed, and sustainable subsurface buoys inspired by sea sponges.
These buoys will provide areas for local species to find refuge and are attached to the seabed by an ecological anchor which avoids damage to the seagrass. Pure Ocean has made a prototype of the floating reef made from reused fishing nets - a low carbon and recycled project that can be replicated around the world.
The project is linked to biodiversity preservation and seagrass protection aligning with SailGP’s previous local impact projects in Saint-Tropez, Bermuda and Plymouth.
During the Range Rover France Sail Grid Prix, SailGP athletes showed their support by attending a presentation on the project to understand the potential impact and talk through implementation plans.
SailGP is also working long term with Saint-Tropez to preserve seagrass through an ecological anchoring project in the surrounding areas. In 2021, this contributed to the implantation of ecological anchors to replace the traditional system at the entrance of the Pilon Harbour channel. A larger project planned for spring 2022 but postponed until 2023 will equip all identified areas in the Saint-Tropez area with ecological anchors.
