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Writing

L’appello ecologista di Wendy Schmidt (Sailing for Ocean Health)

There is nothing quite as stunning as the crisp blue Gulf of Trieste dotted with thousands of trimmed sails, a sight that greets hundreds of thousands of us each year during the world’s largest sailing race, the Barcolana. 

Perhaps the only thing to rival such beauty is what we can’t see from our perches, on land or on deck: the rich tapestry of life below the sea. This week, as we enjoy the thrill of the regatta and the camaraderie of our sailing community, let’s remember, too, to protect the Ocean that provides us not only our sport, but our very breath. 

The Ocean is so much more than it appears from the surface. For billions of people around the world, it is a source of livelihood and sustenance. It is where life on our planet began, where carbon is held so our planet’s temperature can stay in balance, where oxygen is cycled into the air for us to breathe. 

And yet, in my lifetime, the Ocean has been under attack. Overfishing has upset the balance of species. Industrial pollution has not only harmed Ocean life—leaching microplastics and other toxins into the deepest and most distant corners of the sea as well as into our seafood supply—but also inhibited the Ocean’s ability to balance planetary temperature. In our era of climate change, we know, as members of the sailing community, how the seasons are shifting, storms are growing more erratic and extreme, and how sea level rise is threatening many coastal and island regions.

We can do better. Sailors and sailing fans are ideal advocates for the Ocean because for us, the Ocean is not simply a playing field. It is also, for many of us, a home we continue to return to.  Why wouldn’t we do everything we can to take care of it? You cannot even become a good sailor without having a visceral understanding of the interactions between our sailing vessels, shifting winds and Ocean tides and currents. To sail is to connect, fundamentally, with the Ocean in every dimension.

 It was sailing that inspired me to pursue ocean health through philanthropy, whether exploring the deep sea with Schmidt Ocean Institute or working with 11th Hour Racing to advance sustainability in the sailing and maritime communities. In honor of winning the Barcolana 54 in 2022, Deep Blue provided Trieste’s Marine Biodiversity Center with a grant that helped visitors better understand the importance of the gulf and its 74-acre Miramare Marine Protected Area. More than 2,000 children have participated in BioMa’s ocean literacy programming as a result, gaining the insight early in life that the Ocean is so much more than a backdrop for our sport or amusement. It is essential to human health, to the very air we breathe. How we live on land–from the energy sources we consume, to the materials we use, to how we manage our food systems and waste–has direct impacts on the Ocean. We need to be talking about this and doing all we can as Ocean advocates to make our human connection to the Ocean a healthy one. From an exploration point of view, we are only just beginning to discover the extraordinary biodiversity active in the Ocean and how Ocean systems connect to the health of the entire planetary system.

As you look to the sea this week, and as you stroll through the Barcolana Village, please join us in our commitment to sail not just for sport, but for the Ocean.

Wendy Schmidt is president and co-founder of the Schmidt Family Foundation and Schmidt Ocean Institute and co-founder of 11th Hour Racing. Schmidt became the first woman and the first American to win Barcolana54 in 2022.