The Mirpuri Foundation will play a part in The Ocean Race for the third consecutive time, as its Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team competes for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup.
FOLLOW THE TEAM AT WWW.MIRPURIRACINGTEAM.COM
Following the foundation’s support of Turn the Tide on Plastic in the 2017-18 edition of the Race and its winning campaign in The Ocean Race Europe last year, the Mirpuri Foundation will now enter a fully Portuguese team who race for the first time in the opening stage from Alicante, Spain to Cabo Verde starting on 15 January, 2023. The team will also participate in the Alicante In-Port race on 8 January.
The VO65 boat the team will use in the race has a winning pedigree as the ex- Dongfeng Race Team boat, winner of the 2017-18 edition of the around the world race and, as Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, the winner of The Ocean Race Europe.
“We are thrilled to enter our VO65 ‘Racing for the Planet’ into The Ocean Race for this new challenge,” said Paulo Mirpuri. “After our victory in The Ocean Race Europe, it’s exciting to know the team will again be lining up to race with other VO65s. We are expecting a strong challenge from some very experienced teams and look forward to some exciting racing in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint.”
The team will be led by António Fontes who competed as a sailor in the 2017-18 edition of the Race and now graduates from boat captain to skipper for the three stages of The Ocean Race VO 65 Sprint.
He will be supported by an all Portuguese crew with 7 Olympic sailing campaigns between them. Olympians Bernardo Freitas, Frederico Melo and Mariana Lobato were all part of the team that won The Ocean Race Europe and they will be joined by Olympic bronze medalist Hugo Rocha, three time Olympian Diogo Cayolla, as well as Matilde Pinheiro de Melo, Francisco Cai-Água and Francisco Maia.
António Fontes, skipper: ‘It’s a great honour to lead the first all-Portuguese team participating in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint. This is a dream come true for me after so many years of hard work. The Mirpuri Foundation has done a lot for Portuguese sailing and this is another great opportunity for Portuguese sailors to prove themselves against the world’s best.”
Team manager Bruno Dubois commented: “It’s really satisfying when you see sailors you’ve worked with for a long time grow into new roles. António has skippered the team to victory in smaller races and I’m really looking forward to seeing him take the helm on the world stage next.”
“António has been with our team since the very beginning and knows our boat inside out,” said Paulo Mirpuri. “I know António well and it gives me great pride to see a home grown talent as the skipper of our team.”
“This is a strong team racing a boat with a proven track record of success” said Race Chairman Richard Brisius. “We look forward to having them line up alongside the VO65 fleet in Alicante next month with an impressive Portuguese team.”
With the promotion of marine conservation as one of the founding principles of the Mirpuri Foundation, the creation of a high-profile ocean racing team is seen as an imaginative and effective means of assisting the Foundation to carry its central message on the real perils currently facing our oceans and sea life to the four corners of the earth.
“For the foundation, The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint is another excellent opportunity to continue spreading our campaign message #stopclimatechange and we look forward to maximising this opportunity as the world’s sporting media’s attention turns once again to this world class event,” concluded Paulo Mirpuri.
The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team is committed to playing its part in creating a more responsible and sustainable planet by fighting against the very important issues that are plastic pollution and carbon emissions.
THE CAMPAIGN
We are Racing For The Planet
With the promotion of marine conservation as one of the founding principles of the Mirpuri Foundation, the creation of a high-profile ocean racing team was seen as an imaginative and effective means of assisting the Foundation to carry its central message on the real perils currently facing our oceans and sea life to the four corners of the earth.
“Our team will be competitive and will fight very hard for our causes as well as for the race trophy. It is a very special team of sailors with a genuine interest in the environment, for sustainability and for the values of the Mirpuri Foundation.” – Paulo Mirpuri.
Mirpuri Foundation is “Racing For The Planet” to put Climate Change on the global agenda.
In recent years we have all watched as extreme weather conditions and rising sea levels have caused great hardship for millions of people around the world. We are told that if we do not take action on climate change, that our planet’s surface temperature could rise by three degrees, bringing as yet unquantifiable destruction and suffering to the people and animals that call Planet Earth their home. So that is why the Mirpuri Foundation is “Racing For The Planet”.
The Mirpuri Foundation believes that sailing is a sport that brings people closer to the Oceans. Through the Mirpuri Foundations’ ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’ campaign in the 2017-18 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, we were part of a global movement against plastic pollution – and now we are increasing our commitment even further by entering a team in the next edition of one of the world’s most prestigious sailing events, focused on raising awareness and driving meaningful action on climate change.
The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team is committed to playing its part in creating a more responsible and sustainable planet by fighting against the very important issues that are plastic pollution and carbon emissions.
We believe that:
. What is good for the world is also good for our Team;
. To sustain our success we must protect our greatest resource – the planet;
. Our success as a Team depends on our people feeling inspired by their jobs and a sense of greater fulfilment through their connection to nature.
A sustainable team
Since its inception, the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team has worked to ensure that the Team becomes (and remains) one of the world’s leading proponents of sustainability in the sailing world. The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team seeks to minimise environmental impact by reducing emissions in our own operations and our supply chain, and by extending the lifecycle of products that are used.
A Single-Use Plastic Free Racing Boat
The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team replaced all single use plastic onboard our racing boat with compostable alternatives crafted from recycled material.
Additionally, every event we run from media launches, training sessions and racing events, are all held in the most environmentally friendly and sustainable way, minimizing our footprint.
Our goals are:
PLASTIC FREE
Truly committed towards our goal of “Turning the Tide on Plastic”, there won’t be any single-use plastics at any point during training, races or events.
SMART PAPER PRACTISES
All the paper used for the Team and events is recycled.
ORGANIC FOOD
Not only the healthier option for our sailors, but organic food has a lower carbon and environmental footprint.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
All boat waste will be handled responsibly.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The Foundation will donate all the Teams on-event residual fresh food to institutions, reinforcing the work done through our Social Responsibility programmes.
RAISING AWARENESS
The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team organises several workshops, conferences, campaigns and underwater and beach clean up’s in every stopover and also during the pre-race phase, where the our team crew with share the importance of ocean conservation in first-hand, sharing experiences and fan engagement.
