Sovereign Prince Albert II warmly welcomes Yvan Griboval upon his arrival in Monaco at the end of the OceanoScientific Mediterranean Contaminants Expedition 2020.

Photo Georges-Olivier Kalifa / La Gazette de Monaco

"When I returned from the OceanoScientific Expedition 2016-2017, I was convinced of the need to adopt a common denominator of Humankind as a means of raising the awareness of the public at large about the imperative need to better understand the Ocean in order to better preserve it. I thought music would be the perfect medium. That was how we first thought of an Anthem of the Ocean which became LOVE THE OCEAN® written, composed and performed by the young Monegasque artist Olivia Dorato,"Yvan Griboval explained during the dinner conference. LOVE THE OCEAN® was broadcast for the first time and presented to the Sovereign Prince at the arrival of the AMAALA EXPLORER maxi-catamaran in Monaco on 28 October. 

"However, since last spring's lockdown and even more at the end of these two weeks of sailing, I am now convinced thatthe best way to make the world population aware of the importance of the Ocean is to help oceanographic and scientific research focusing on the well-being of human beings and their health. We shall continue to collect physico-chemical data at the Ocean - Atmosphere interface, in particular thanks to the new version of the OSC System. But we shall now go much further in the scientific approach during our next OceanoScientific Expeditions by sail without any CO2 emissions or waste. To do so, we are working hard with the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM) and are planning a forthcoming OceanoScientific Expedition - this time on the theme of coral and in the Red Sea - setting sail on the Thursday of the next Monaco Ocean Week, in March 2021". 

"The corollary of that decision is that I shall not be able to sail around Antarctica during the Southern Winteras I wanted so much to do!" said Yvan Griboval, not without emotion. "It is too personal an act, even selfish considering the time required for the preparation (over two years), and then sailing (four to six months). Three years and a lot of money to attempt a personal "feat", seems somewhat pointless. It would be three years lost for our oceanographic activities for the benefit of Health, also lost for our thirteen-year-old triplets. They need their father's presence too much at this time of life when their adolescent dreams form the future..."

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Drawing from the lessons learnt during the OceanoScientific Mediterranean Contaminants Expedition 2020, Yvan Griboval insisted on several parameters which will now guide the organisation of the next OceanoScientific sailing expeditions, scheduled to be by catamaran rather than monohull.

"By having on-board Linn Sekund, the marine biologist of the Team OceanoScientific, we realised the importance of having a scientist by our side to optimise the efficiency of our sailing expedition.Similarly, the presence of the On Board Reporter (OBR) Manu Valadés Escobar allowed us to send quality photo and video images to the social networks, and then use them for a well-illustrated conference just a few hours after our return to Monaco. It is essential to increase the audience for our adventures and, in doing so increase their impact tenfold to raise awareness about the need to preserve the Ocean". 

"We dedicated each port call to our local partners so that they could communicate about their own actions to raise awareness about Ocean preservation. We are therefore extremely pleased to have worked with One Ocean Foundation in Porto Cervo; with the Fundación Ecomar chaired by Theresa Zabell and with the Fundació Navegació Oceànica Barcelona (FNOB) in Spain; with the Toulon Provence Mediterranean Metropolitan Authority (TPM) and its eight ports, including that of La Seyne - Brégaillon where the AMAALA EXPLORER was docked. Without forgetting the faithful support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which provided its backing for the exhibition of the plankton fresco produced on the quayside of the Yacht Club de Monaco by the OceanoScientific Monaco with the photos of the underwater photographer Greg Lecœur."

On the return to Monaco, AMAALA, the main Partner for the OceanoScientific Mediterranean Contaminants Expedition 2020, was represented by Nick Naples, Chief Executive Officer and Brendan Jack, Chief Sustainability Officer.

Nick Naples said, “We are proud to sponsor the OceanoScientific Expedition. It perfectly aligns with our goal to create a luxury destination that is a global leader in sustainable tourism.”

Brendan Jack took the floor to recall: "On the AMAALA site in the Red Sea we have one of the finest remaining coral reefs in the World. However, as with all of the world’s reefs, it too faces the same climate change and human activity based threats, such as sea temperature rise, ocean acidification, and pollution… For these reasons, the importance of the scientific research being carried out by the OceanoScientific team during this Expedition, and the equally important analysis of the collected sample data by Ifremer, cannot be emphasised enough. Our Oceans - the Med and the Red - are connected. We share common issues and we shall share common solutions".

On Thursday, 29 October, the line of twelve exclusive products from the LOVE THE OCEAN® collection was unveiled, produced by 727 Sailbags with recycled sails (mainsail, solent and staysail) from the OceanoScientific Explorer BOOGALOO with which Yvan Griboval made his single-handed round-the-world OceanoScientific Expedition 2016-2017, the first oceanographic campaign by sail without CO2 emissions for sixty days under the 40th Southern Parallel. 

After taking up the moorings on 15 October when the expedition set sail, Sovereign Prince Albert II of Monaco holds out the moorings of the AMAALA EXPLORER maxi-catamaran to Yvan Griboval on his return to Monaco on 29 October 2020 - Photo Mesi / Yacht Club de Monaco

Bernard d'Alessandri, Secretary General of the Yacht Club de Monaco, opens the dinner conference hosted by Yvan Griboval in the 1909 Restaurant of the Y.C.M. - Photo Mesi / Yacht Club de Monaco

Samples collected handed over to Ifremer

La Seyne-sur-Mer, Wednesday 28 October - At around 11:00 this morning Yvan Griboval, Expedition Director and Linn Sekund, the marine biologist on board the AMAALA EXPLORER maxi-catamaran and Coordinator for the Fabienne Gaillard Scientific Committee of the OceanoScientific associations, handed over to Vincent Rigaud, Director of the Centre Méditerranée for the Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer), the eight precious samples collected along the course of some 1,500 nautical miles from Monaco to the mouth of the Tiber (Italy), then to Porto Cervo (Sardinia), Barcelona (Spain) and La Seyne-sur-Mer. Representatives of AMAALA, the main partner for the OceanoScientific Mediterranean Contaminants Expedition 2020, Nick Naples (AMAALA Chief Executive Officer) and Brendan Jack (AMAALA Chief Sustainability Officer), travelled from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) for the occasion. They were proud to highlight that Ocean conservation, whether in the Mediterranean or the Red Sea, is part of the same global effort on behalf of generations to come. 

Arrival in Barcelona (Spain)

The  AMAALA EXPLORER has had good sailing conditions after having passed the North End of Corsica. Photo : OceanoScientific

The port call will be supervised by Theresa Zabell, as President-Founder of the Fundación Ecomar, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary last year. The foundation, which invites young people to practice sailing and the Spanish public to help preserve the Ocean, in particular by reducing sources of plastic pollution, is one of the oldest in Europe in this respect.

FNOB and the Fundación Ecomar have organized an agenda filled with conferences and activities to make the most of the port call for a few days by the AMAALA EXPLORER maxi-catamaran. The Covid-19 pandemic risks disrupting the established schedule, because the bars and restaurants and many shops have been closed in Catalonia since last Friday. The health authorities are stepping up the procedures to combat the appalling virus which is also affecting Italy, a tourist destination currently deserted despite the exceptional weather conditions this season.

"This first leg has left us with mixed feelings", explained Yvan Griboval on Sunday morning. “As far as the sailing is concerned, there were no surprises; the Mediterranean is still just as versatile. We went through periods with breezes of up to 20-23 knots and areas of flat calm in which we had no other means of moving on than to start the engines of the AMAALA EXPLORER maxi-catamaran. It's frustrating. We sailed under a bright sun but also under heavy thunderstorms of rain and lightning criss-crossing the sea between Corsica and the Island of Elba. It looked more like the Doldrums than the Mediterranean".

"The first samples were taken en route and went perfectly," reported Linn Sekund, Marine Biologist for Team OceanoScientific. "On the other hand, the sea was much too heavy at the mouth of the Tiber when we got there around midnight on Friday(16 October) to install the passive sensors on the beacon identified with our Italian colleagues".

"I tried to spot it using our inflatable boat with Xavier, crewmate of Maciej Piejko, the Boat Captain of the AMAALA EXPLORER," confided Yvan Griboval, "because I didn't want to give up without trying. I admit that the attempt was risky, even dangerous, and it could have ended badly for Xavier or myself. So we didn't achieve what mattered to me most in this location. The setback should only be temporary, however. To benefit from good sea conditions at the mouths of rivers, you need more time than a short port call, what's more in the middle of the night.

We have therefore decided, on the one hand, to postpone the installation of the three passive sensors at the mouths of the Tiber (Italy), the Ebro (Spain) and the Rhône (France) and organize it in the spring when the sea conditions are better. We'll get there by inflatable boat, located a few hundred meters away or even a nautical mile from the shore. We'll do it using the AMAALA EXPLORER's tender next April or May.

In addition, we are going to increase the collection of samples on the route of the OceanoScientific Expedition and we are considering taking additional samples off Barcelona during our next port call," continued Yvan Griboval.

On the occasion of this port call in Porto Cervo, one of Sardinia's loveliest locations, a conference organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda was attended by the crews taking part in the Audi Sailing Champions League competition, with entries by some thirty crews from more thirteen countries. During this conference, Andrea de Lucia head of the CNR Center Research at Oristano presented the research project on micro-plastics. Then, Cécile d'Estais, General Delegate of the OceanoScientific associations (France & Monaco), pointed out the importance of organic contaminants in the Ocean and their impact on not only human health, but also on Corals. An important issue raised by AMAALA, main partner of the OceanoScientific Mediterranean Contaminants Expedition 2020, as they are based on one of the world’s last, large, healthy coral reef system and within a spectacular undeveloped natural coastal zone.

Yvan Griboval used the opportunity to sign the ethical code "Charta Smeralda" of the One Ocean Foundation, which consists in making ten formal commitments to sustainably preserve the Ocean. Commitments that both Yvan Griboval and his partners AMAALA and Biologique Recherche equally respect.

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CREW:

- Yvan Griboval (Expedition Director / France)

- Maciej Piejko (Boat Captain / Watch Captain / Poland)

- Pascal Brouin (Watch Captain / France)

- Maxime Dreno  (Second in command to Yvan Griboval / Helmsman / France)

- Frédéric Dahirel (Second in command to Maciej Piejko / Helmsman / France)

- Linn Sekund (Scientist / Sweden)

- Xavier Ciurana Llorens (Crewmate / Spain)

- Marc Archer (AMAALA Director of sports / New Zealand). 

The maxi-catamaran AMAALA EXPLORER (OCEAN PEARL ex-CLUB MED)  110 feet (33.50 m),

 is the unique winner of the only two multihull races organised anywhere in the world:

The Race 2000 - and the Oryx Quest 2005

More information on Amaala