Over the past ten years, the boating world has set a course towards the sustainable, through tooling and the actions of the association for eco-friendly pleasure craft, which works on a daily basis to ensure that the behaviour and mentality around this hot topic are changing. Today, a sustainable marine industry has become a reality for professionals in the field. It is initially characterized by a desire to integrate environmental concerns throughout a boat’s life cycle, through to the implementation of a deconstruction network. Each ‘segment’ integrates this dimension: innovative methods of propulsion, antifouling paints, energy-saving devices, bio-detergents and waste management… Like the general public, Alain Vidalies, Secretary of State for Transport, Marine Affairs and Fisheries, with the Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, visiting the Nautic this Wednesday, was able to get a handle on the level of involvement and commitment among French boating enthusiasts.
The State and the French Marine Industry Federation agree on an annual conference
Arriving for the opening of the Nautic this Wednesday, Alain Vidalies, Secretary of State for Transport, Marine Affairs and Fisheries, with the Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, had a tour of the boat show before taking the stage on the Directorate for Maritime Affairs’ stand, where he notably replied to Yves Lyon-Caen, President of the French Marine Industry Federation and President of the Nautic. Shortly beforehand, the latter had repeated his suggestion to mutually consider the creation of an annual conference. “The boating and pleasure craft world needs to be strengthened and to develop its collaboration with the State. A great many domains such as economic development, the expansion of practices as well as safety are all matters that are common to the both of us. Today, the context in which this collaboration is made is a context that needs to be revamped. The French regulatory body was an essential tool at one time. Today, we feel the need for another outline, which would enable slightly stricter interdepartmental work.” Today that is a done deal, confirmed the Secretary of State. “I very much believe in France’s maritime policy. It has some very big challenges and it is down to all of us to make it work”, concluded Mr Vidalies.
French Electric Boat Association (AFBE): sustainable electric and hybrid solutions for pleasure craft
Created in 1994 by partners from different professional backgrounds – academics, researchers, engineers and manufacturers – anxious to develop the electric boat image and market in France and overseas, the French Electric Boat Association made the most of this day at the Nautic dedicated to the environment to present practical cases for the development of sustainable electric and hybrid solutions for pleasure craft. It also reminded everyone of its objectives, namely: promoting the design, construction and use of the electric boat, encouraging operators and communities to kit out their waterways and lakes with electric power supply hubs, to contribute to the respecting of nature and the environment, air and water, to establish relations with overseas counterpart associations, as well as favouring exchanges with organisations dealing with other types of electric vehicles.
Citizen commitment, a solution for protecting the ocean
Since its creation, Surfrider has had a deep-seated belief in education and teaching as a way to provide relevant support to environmental, economic and societal changes. The various members of the association once again highlighted this fact at the Nautic today. Indeed, in order to fully participate in this responsible and civic ecological transition, the association has developed innovative sustainable development education programmes (EDD), which have a primary objective: to enable everyone to understand the complexity of the current environmental issues so as to become fully involved in bringing about change. “We’re developing inclusive teaching methods aimed at motivating and empowering learners, so that they modify their behaviour and become fully involved in sustainable development. Our teams are designing innovative educational content and scenarios favouring the acquiring of skills and enabling learners to develop their critical thinking, envisage future scenarios and make joint decisions”.
Les Glénans: cruising as a medium for raising awareness about environmental issues
This Wednesday on the Nautic Stage, representatives from Les Glénans, France’s most renowned sailing school, tackled an important theme, that of cruising as a medium for raising awareness about environmental issues. Indeed, who could be better placed to discuss this topic? In fact, the founders of Les Glénans became aware very early on of the importance of their responsibility for preserving the sites where they had set themselves up in business, which are considered to be collective assets. This concern has become a constant in their lives and it has led to the classifying of several sites and enabled the maintaining of a business that is respectful of the constraints linked to remoteness. In a general manner, the association does everything in its power not to damage the sites where it operates its business. Renewable energies – wind turbines, solar panels, a system for evacuating waste and septic tanks, compost toilets and green toilets – are used in the Glénan archipelago and on Ile Verte (the Bréhat archipelago). In this way, the preservation of the environment is favoured rather than the improving of comfort, even if the latter is progressing where possible and without damaging the environment.
Focus on eco-innovative boating
Raising awareness and rallying together communities along the French coastlines around the crucial need to implement solutions to respond to climate issues and developing solutions so as they can inspire others to rally together, such is the direction taken by Innovations Bleues, the association founded by Catherine Chabaud. In attendance today, the sailor chose to shine a spotlight on coastal regions, those for which the economic, demographic and environmental challenges are significant. The association also intends to point out the key role the oceans play in the balance of the climate, a message it conveys with the Ocean&Climate platform. The coastline, the space where the sea meets the land, will harbour 80% of the planet’s inhabitants by 2050. Meantime, it has a ringside seat for observing the rising sea levels, which are affecting global warming. For France, the host country for the COP21, whose coastal and maritime land encompasses all the globe’s oceanic regions, the challenges are preponderant. This was highlighted to visitors to the Nautic this afternoon.
The SHOM (Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service), 300 years of observation
The sea level is an important parameter used as an indicator by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and in studies relating to climate change. The town of Brest can pride itself on having been one of the first sites in the world where systematic observations of the sea level were carried out in 1679 by French astronomers La Hire and Picard. From that point, measurements of the sea level were first pursued under the aegis of the Royal Academy of Sciences, then by the Bureau des Longitudes and finally, since 1846, by the SHOM (Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service), which is the only one of its kind in the world. The use of these observations shows that the sea level has increased by around 30 centimetres in 300 years. Details of this study were exhibited today on the main stage of the Nautic. Thrilling… yet worrying.
Reducing plastic pollution, the challenge of the “7e Continent”
Presented at the boat show this afternoon, the expedition to the 7th continent directed by Patrick Deixonne aimed to rally together public opinion on the extent of plastic pollution in the oceans and acquire scientific data about the impact of this pollution on the balance of marine ecosystems. Following on from the expedition in 2014 in the North Atlantic gyre, a giant circular oceanic surface current, the 2015 expedition had a second exploration of this zone. The boat covered nearly 2,500 kilometres of open water offshore taking samples and measurements. The accumulation of plastic debris in the marine environment has become a major environmental concern. As such, this mission focused on plastic pollution in the offshore environment, which has been very little studied to date. The principle of this campaign in the North Atlantic Ocean consists of making observations and collecting samples, which will later be analysed in a laboratory. The aims? To map out where the pollution is, characterize the natural environment and define the physicochemical nature of the plastics collected.
Odyssée Bleue: for a better understanding of animal species to contribute to their conservation
Stéphane Mifsud, patron of the Nautic 2015 as a representative of environmental protection, has chosen the Paris boat show as the starting point for his Odyssée Bleue (Blue Odyssey) project, with the support of Suzuki Marine and Bénéteau, his official partners. The world record holder in static freediving (11’35) announced the news himself: he will be setting out on the discovery of sharks and their elasmobranch ‘cousins’, the rays, alongside biologist Nicolas Ziani, founder of the new Groupe Phocéen d’Etude des Requins (Marseilles’ Shark Study Group), of which the Mediterranean is a partner. This scientific and educational project will enable a better understanding of these animal species, information which can be shared with the general public thus contributing to their conservation.
Under The Pole
With global warming currently upsetting the fragile balance in the Far North, Ghislain Bardout and his Under The Pole team presented their two major underwater polar expeditions to visitors to the Nautic, whose aim was to explore the hidden face of the Arctic and Antarctic regions in their diversity. They particularly focused on the twenty-one months they spent in Greenland between January 2014 and September 2015. “This second expedition carries on from the previous one for a North-South study of the underwater environment between the North Pole and the Polar Circle. We carried out a systematic exploration of the seabed along the entire length of the western coast of Greenland, for more than one cycle of seasons, wintering in the ice floe between the surface and 112m down. The entire project aimed to create a new image bank about a spectacular and unexplored world and raise public awareness about the present disturbances, notably in the Arctic”, Bardout informed the public in Paris.
Ribs out in force at the Nautic
A fast-expanding sector, ribs are represented at the Nautic by around thirty or so yards. “Registrations of inflatables have seen the strongest growth on the market and this evolution is reflected in Paris, which showcases the current trends in pleasure craft. The presence of the inflatable rib brands has increased by 25% in 3 years”, explains Alain Pichavant, Commissioner General of the boat show. This year once again, the Italians are out in force, with the striking presence of Sacs, Joker, Nuova Jolly, Selva and SeaWater. It’s an unmissable meeting for these yards, for whom France has become the number one market. In the aisles of Hall 4, the visitor is immediately drawn in by these powerful, high performance thoroughbreds and their luxury services. The honed design boasts ultra contemporary lines reminiscent of the Italian school. Among the new features presented at the Nautic, how could you fail to be enticed by the stunning silhouette of the Lomac Gran Tourismo 10.5. A top of the range ‘gommone’, equipped with a fluid and functional deck layout: fixed forward sundeck, centre console accommodating a double bunk and wc and an aft saloon with an electric table that can be converted into a solarium. A pair of 350hp outboard engines propel this fine stallion at over 50 knots. You can enjoy the same exhilarating sensations aboard the fantastic Nuova Jolly Prince 38 CC, which is designed to exceed 55 knots. An accomplished, sporty temperament, it has a family-oriented fit-out, geared towards comfort and lounging. In addition, do take the time to admire the flawless Joker 28, presented for the first time in its in-board version. Let’s also salute the fine comeback by Zodiac. With a strong presence at the Nautic this year, the French brand has every intention of fighting tooth and nail to defend its position as the global leader.