Questioning the Environmental Impact of World-Class Competition

As an expert navigator of a craft that's designed to run strictly on wind power, Patagoniac and US Sailing Team member Andrew Campbell brings us an interesting perspective on the environmental impact of organized competition. Andrew has been a member of the US Sailing Team since 2001 and is currently training and racing his Olympic-class Laser around the globe in pursuit of a spot on the 2008 Olympic team. He just returned home from the World Championships in Portugal and the PanAm Games in Rio de Janeiro where he won a gold medal. He also maintains his own blog: CampbellSailing.com

I was recently in Mallorca, Spain training for my Olympic sailing bid in the single-handed men's division when I saw an interesting article in Outside magazine. It featured the Kodak Gallery Pro Cycling Team and its effort to throw off the shackles of emissions from the purported 1,500 support and transport vehicles that drive approximately 2,000 miles during races like the Tour de France. Their venture, in which they are apparently succeeding, is to "become the first carbon-neutral pro bike squad, purchasing enough wind-energy credits to offset all the emissions the team and staff will generate." Is it ironic that a team of cyclists, a bunch of guys on bicycles pedaling away and emitting little more than the CO2 out of their exhausted bodies, could make such a significant impact on the environment?

[Andrew Campbell racing his Olympic-class Laser. Photo: Luther Carpenter]

My brain was stirring. It is certainly true that cycling teams make a significant impact on the environment. Think of all the support cars filled with team managers and coaches, equipment specialists, and water bottles that tail the peleton as it careens across France every summer. On top of that, 18-wheelers transport the bikes from finish lines to new start lines each day and set up camps running generators and electric appliances to maintain a 30-person squad. The idea that a bunch of cyclists could be concerned about how "green" their campaign is stimulated my brain to consider the world of sailboat racing. As much as we like to brag about its clean and quiet demeanor, the sport of sailboat racing – from Olympic sailing to the America’s Cup to local one-design racing  – has a massive impact on the environment because of the resources we use to get ourselves and our craft to race locations around the world.

I have made a massive impact, as far as emissions are concerned, just in the last 10 months of full-time sailing. I have driven across country four times, once with a Laser roof-topped, and once with a 470 backwards (Team McNay-Beihl can take the guilt for those emissions, and I assure you that the gas mileage was NOT good for that trip). I’ve driven across Germany and Poland twice, each time with two Lasers on top of the car. I've driven across Florida more times than I’d like to admit, and covered plenty of distance in Southern California. I will likely drive to Rhode Island from San Diego again in September for a race. There will be plenty of driving across Spain, France and Portugal for the Olympic European Circuit in the coming months. I have flown from San Diego to Germany and back, to China and flown back from Korea, and now to Barcelona from San Diego. Before the summer is over, I will make another round-trip to Europe, with a not-so-minor stopover in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Meanwhile, my boat has used container space aboard some big ships to and from China, and to and from Europe. I just took a six-hour ferry accompanied by three American coach boats on trailers attached to three Euro-sized vans. I have burned gallons of gas riding in escort and coach boats on the water when I'm not racing. And we often motor our sailboats out to the racecourse to save hours of strain on the headsail, the modern combustion V-8 has made it very convenient to do so.

All this impact I have made in the last 10 months pursuing a game that is derived from a sport where only the wind, and maybe a few waves, push us around the racecourse. Like the cycling team there is a certain irony in the fact that the carbon-impact from my sailing during the last 10 months is relatively massive compared with most human beings on earth. I would not be surprised if there are 1,000 Olympic-level sailors and 700 more coaches and administrators who make a similar impact as I do.

I am by no means criticizing anybody who travels with their boats. Sailboat racing and the travel demanded by its pursuit is the single best thing that any of us can spend our time and money doing. But the article about the Kodak Gallery Pro Cycling Team prompted an interesting train of thought that could make a large impact in sailing and every other sport. If there is anyone out there with a tangible idea of how to make the US Sailing Team or US Laser Sailors sustainable and carbon-neutral through some sort of sponsorship, that would be an incredible point of marketability for a team that lacks public support.

[Driving through Arizona en route to another race. Photo: Andrew Campbell]

 

Comments

[Peter Branning]

Your question seems to start with, "Are dinghy sailors conscious enough as a group to decide how they will impact the planet with their travel?". These are people who race, and like the cyclists, are concerned about winning and typically will compromise the planet to do so without much thought.

As in cycling, perhaps its the sponsors who have to be approached. One has to create concern at the point of leverage.

[andy woolard]

I believe the most powerful part of your post is your understanding and facing of your impact. Kudos to you for the leadership and introspection. We can all - no matter tour rider or daily commuter - take a closer look at our impact.

[eric pankonin]

approach the sponsors? take a closer look indeed. lets not forget that professional competition (and sponsorship) is a tiny corner of the giant predatory and exploitative world of marketing - the consuptive engine that still runs on the (hopefully) nonsustainable fuel of humanity's outdated and unfounded beliefs in exclusivity and scarcity.

buying carbon offsets is a nice overture - like buying indulgences from the catholic church in the 15th century - for the rich and guilty.

if we think about leisure and play (and competition) as an essential expression of abundance and love that should be spread far and wide to maximize the benefit to humanity, specialized professional-commercial competition will yield to inclusive widespread amateur recreation.

[libby wayman]

Andrew Campbell, as a renewable energy researcher, I can empathize with this train of thought all too well, and congratulate you on your awareness. The bottom line is that the pursuit of certain goals, whether it be standing on the olympic podium or bringing renewable energy technology to developing countries, requires the commitment and expenditure of various resources. In previous eras, "resources" meant money. In an era of increasing awareness of environmental impact, we are beginning to understand that "resources" includes natural resources and environmental impact.

The real goal, therefore, remains the same: to minimize your overall expenditures.

To minimize your resource and environmental expenditures, you could have a sponsor pay for these expenditures. If unchecked, however, could lead to rather liberal spending. Therefore, you must also strive to MINIMIZE your IMPACT where ever possible. Specifically:

-- Make sure that all of your coach boats have 4-stroke engines
-- Coach boats should also be planing boats that are only as big as needed (push as little water as possible)
-- Plan your travel program to minimize long trips and excessive back-and-forth
-- Rent fuel-efficient and versitile vehicles (example: 4 cyl with turbo so that you have enough power to pull a trailor when needed, but an efficient vehicle when not pulling a trailor, or something)
-- Incoroporate energy efficiency and resource conservation into your everyday life: re-use water bottles (if local water is safe to drink), bike around your temporary home i/o driving, turn off lights when not in a room, drive patiently

In conclusion, the purchasing of carbon offsets is a great idea, but this must be met with energy and resource efficiency.

good luck!