The Ocean Race – the round the world race known as the toughest test of a team in sport – is bringing the spirit of ocean racing to the Our Ocean Conference in Athens, Greece.
One of the ‘legend’ boats that competed in the 2005-06 edition of the Race, “Ericsson 1”, will sail into the Flisvos Marina on Saturday, April 13, on the occasion of the 9th World Ocean Conference “Our OceanConference 2024“.
The crew of Ericsson 1 departed from Genoa, Italy, earlier this week to deliver “Nature’s Baton” to the delegates of the Our Ocean Conference at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) as part of the Relay4Nature, an initiative created to help to give the ocean a voice on the critical issues affecting our planet at the landmark climate and ocean events where decisions are made about the environment.
A symbolic relay ceremony will take place on Monday, April 15 at 2 p.m., (between Pier A and Pier B) of Marina Flisvos. The “Nature’s Baton” will be handed over by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Oceans, Mr. Peter Thomson to the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Oceans and Coordinator of the “Our Ocean 2024″ Conference, Dr. Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou, in the presence of distinguished participants.
Nature’s Baton, carrying the message of the critical role the ocean plays in regulating climate change and the wider health of the planet to the participants of the Conference, will be at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) as a reminder of the connection between these key Ocean events.
On 17 April, following the closing ceremony of the Our Ocean Conference, Nature’s Baton will continue its journey to pass the message to the delegates of the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC 2025), which will be held in Nice, France in June 2025.
During the boat’s stay in Greece – from April 14 to April 17 – the 6 member crew will present the boat, her history and the educational program of “The Ocean Race” to friends of the sea.
Partners for the Greek leg of the Relay4Nature include Marina Flisvos, Edit Automation, Skipper ONDECK.
The event is under the auspice of the Hellenic Ministry of Shipping and Insular Policy.
