Whilst competing in The Ocean Race, the offshore racing team Malizia have experienced moments of nerves, excitement and extreme joy. Their success however can be measured not only through their sporting powers.
Team Malizia has a goal. Not only are they a successful competitive sailing team, but they are a team that sails with a purpose. Based on their passion for the ocean, they collect important scientific data from remote parts of the ocean and educate people of all ages and nationalities on sustainability topics, utilising their sailing platform to promote climate and ocean advocacy.
After around 6 months of tenacity, hardship and great team spirit with stops in Cabo Verde, Cape Town, Itajai, Newport, Aarhus, Kiel and The Hague, the final leg took them to the city of Genoa in Italy. Here, the race came to an end and the Malizia – Seaexplorer was awarded a well-deserved place on the podium, coming 3rd overall in the IMOCA fleet.
However apart from this physical race in which Team Malizia was competing in, the team was and is on a far bigger quest: a race to educate about, raise awareness for and collect viable data on climate change.
Throughout the entirety of the Ocean Race, an onboard laboratory of the Malizia - Seaexplorer was collecting scientific data. The onboard laboratory tracks the temperature and salinity of the surrounding water 24/7. This data is crucial for scientists to better understand the impact that climate change is having on our world oceans. For example, the last data collection during the Vendee Globe was included in the IPPC report.
In addition to the on-board laboratory, the crew aboard the Malizia – Seaexplorer also deployed important science instruments whilst sailing across the world oceans.
In support of their passion for oceanic and planetary health, Team Malizia’s quest to succeed did not stop at competitive sailing. During stopovers between the legs, the Team made it their goal to make the most out of the opportunity to reach out to inspire ad educate people of all ages and nationalities. They achieved this by hosting a number of sustainability panels discussing and highlighting different voices and views on the topic of combatting climate change.
Additionally, younger generations participated in Malizia’s own education programme, the “My Ocean Challenge”, which aims to create awareness for our climate and the importance of the oceans in connection to global warming.
Throughout the 6 months of racing, the Team organized 16 kids’ events, reaching around 1,000 children from different social backgrounds and countries with their education programme. This brings the overall number of children that have benefited from the educational program to around 75,000!
We at Kuehne+Nagel are extremely proud of Team Malizia’s achievements both at sea and on land and continue to support them in their advocacy and congratulate them on the past six months spent racing around the world and their race against global climate change. Although “The Ocean Race“is now over, the more important race and call for action continues and is as pressing as ever: This is a Race We Must Win. Climate Action Now. Read more about Kuehne+Nagel’s path to a zero carbon future.