Race for Water approaching the Panama Canal before linking up with Panama City

Race for Water Odyssey 2017-2021 © Peter Charaf

The Panama Canal, from the Atlantic to the Pacific

Having set sail from Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe on 28 January 2018, Race for Water, the catamaran powered by a mixture of different energies – wind, sunshine and hydrogen – is making for Panama and the gateway to the Pacific. This voyage will have enabled the crew to further test the efficiency of the boat's kite propulsion in downwind conditions.

On 10 February, the catamaran Race for Water will enter the Canal and begin making her way up the Isthmus of Panama on Friday 16 February, once the usual regulatory formalities have been fulfilled. The 100% ecological vessel will reach the country's capital and Fuerte Amador, her stopover port, late in the day on Sunday 18 February.

The SUEZ Group, Panama stopover partner from 20-28 February

Sharing a common vision, the Race for Water Foundation and the SUEZ Group have decided to join forces for the iconic passage along the Panama Canal. With extensive support from Panama City itself, this collaboration is coloured by their mutual conviction that there are solutions to combat plastic pollution and that the latter needs to be implemented on shore. Once it makes it into the oceans, the plastic deteriorates and coming up with a plan to collect it all becomes a somewhat utopian ideal. However, to ensure the effectiveness of these solutions, it is absolutely essential to raise awareness about the pollution and educate the local populations, and the children in particular.

With these objectives in mind, the SUEZ Group and the Race for Water Foundation are together organising a 4-day event called "RESIDUOS RECICLADOS, OCEANOS LIMPIOS" (Recycled waste, clean oceans). It is an approach aimed at opening a discussion on the challenges of preserving the oceans in a region of the Caribbean, which is experiencing a fast-developing economy, industry and tourism, but where less than 30% of waste is recycled.

Through conferences, a student seminar and an open day, this project intends to have regional scope thanks to input from both local and international speakers.

Marco Simeoni, President of the Race For Water Foundation: "We're delighted at the prospect of being welcomed by and working with the Suez group in Panama, which is one of the major protagonists in waste management and has a global view of the problems affecting the whole of Central America".