1% for the Planet: Alexia Barrier and Protecting the Oceans

For two years, Café du Cycliste has devoted 1% of its turnover to supporting projects linked to environmental protection. All of the organisations we support are based in France and we’re committed to help promote and advance environmental protection and social enterprise. Alexia Barrier, professional sailor, Caravan athlete and Côte d’Azur local, is preparing to attempt a world record in multihull sailing with a 100% female crew, named the ‘The Famous Project’. And Alexia’s 4myPlanet charity is one of our supported organisations. Alexia is a woman strongly committed to the protection of her playground of the oceans and invited us on to her racing boat for the Voiles de Saint Tropez.

This visit coincides with the release of the first episodes of her virtual reality film Ocean 360 and gives her the opportunity to tell us about the progress 4myPlanet. The Voiles de Saint Tropez, run since 1999, brings together classic boats and modern vessels for a celebratory regatta in the Mediterranean ocean. Alexia’s MOD 70, a multihull trimaran, glides across the bay among the more traditional sailing yachts. On luxury boats the crews work in serious silence, on-deck with Alexia it's a completely different atmosphere.

A happy group of children are at work, supervised by an almost exclusively female crew, a dream team of sailors with CVs and experience as long as a fore-and-aft rig. These kids come from a college in Périgord to enjoy the extraordinary experience of sailing on a racing boat during an event which showcases the most beautiful monohulls in the world.

“I had coached children during the Vendée Globe on an E-game, Virtual Regatta and I had promised the UNSS (Union Nationale du Sport Scolaire) to bring the winning team on my boat. And it’s crazy because these children, who live far from the sea, who have nothing to do with the world of sailing, discover this universe in the sublime setting of Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, it’s magical.”

Alexia tells us why she agreed to be the ‘godmother’ of the UNSS:

“I have been a godmother for three years, working together with the UNSS on issues of sustainability and environmental protection. I played sports at the UNSS when I was little myself. It’s a place where you can try lots of activities and make friends. At the UNSS you can be an athlete, referee, media-person or coach, it’s a great school of life. And it’s an opportunity for me, for The Famous Project and for 4myPlanet to be able to address its millions of licensees. They will be the first to see Ocean 360 and help broadcast it on a large scale.”

Ocean 360 is the main project that the sponsorship from Café du Cycliste finances. Ocean 360 is a virtual reality film dedicated to educating about the oceans and their biodiversity.

“My goal is to bring this issue of saving the oceans to schools in France but also abroad, to allow children who have never had the chance to experience the sea to encounter the ocean. In Ocean 360 we explain what happens on the surface of the water and under it when I sail. Sailing is used as a pretext and the object is of course to raise awareness of this very sensitive environment.”

The film will be released in the near future and will be viewable on the 4myPlanet.fr website. It will also be distributed by UNESCO as well as by National Education in France. Alexia is working hard on it and is openly launching an appeal: “If teachers or National Education executives read this article, they call me, we have things to do together!”

Alexia also works with UNESCO on issues related to education and diversity. 4myPlanet is involved in several European projects for the development of on-board sensors with a view to carrying out constant ocean observation. For 12 years it has been engaged in capturing research data.

The two trimarans engaged in the quest for a world record with an exclusively female crew – The Famous Project – will be equipped with these sensors. Significant work is also underway to improve the use of renewable energy on board Alexia’s boats, via efficient solar panels, ethanol batteries and hydrogen. These technologies can then eventually be used for the public and the commercial end of the nautical industry.

Rome was not built in a day, so they say, and Alexia is convinced that her action is for the long term. She is adamant that under no circumstances should we let our guard down. This woman has enormous potential for using her energy and convictions to protect and educate about the marine environment, something Café du Cycliste salutes and remains committed to supporting.

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