An all-female team of sailors has embarked on an expedition to circumnavigate the British Isles on an environmental mission to survey the ocean waters there. The team will spend the better part of the next month on three separate voyages that will take them to some of Britains most prominent capital cities.
Dubbed the eXXpedition Around Britain 2017, the crew of 14 set out from Plymouth, and will now sail to Cardiff and Belfast, before closing this leg by arriving in Glasgow on August 17. Along the way, they’ll be taking samples of the water to look for plastics and other toxins that may be polluting the seas just off the coast. Their findings will be a part of a larger study to determine how these pollutants are impacting the ecosystem of the islands and impacting the health of the people that live in various parts of the U.K.
The eXXpedition is being conducted aboard the S/V Sea Dragon, a 72-foot, steel-hulled, sailing vessel, which was originally built to compete in the Global Challenge Race. Now, it has been repurposed to conduct scientific research and is owned and operated by Pangaea Explorations. The ship will serve as the home and mobile base for the crew over the next few weeks.
The second leg of the journey will begin in Belfast and sail towards Edinburgh with a stop in Stornoway en route. The third, and final, leg will run from Edinburgh to Plymouth, before turning back and ending in London. The team hopes to wrap up the voyage by September 5.
Find out more at exxpedition.com.
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