The Novara One Planet initiative
by Roving Rear Commodore Steve Brown 21 Jan 06:55 UTC
Bob Shepton and I recently rejoined Novara for the passage from Agadir in Morocco to Mindelo in the Cape Verdes to catch up on the work being done on the "Novara One Planet" project.
After a successful summer in the Western Isles of Scotland by Novara's new owners, Veronica Lysaght and Nigel Jollands, where Novara visited a number of coastal communities to discuss the issues they face regarding climate change adaptation, establishing a network of communities and providing ongoing support through the project's specialist team members, Novara had sailed south to take part in Agadir's "Green Cities" launch, an initiative managed by Nigel during his time working for the European Bank for Regional Development.
During our time on board, Bob and I could also see for ourselves how the OCC's Challenge Grant award had been used to fund the solar panel installation that would enable Novara to spend more time at anchor and reduce the reliance on the fossil-fuel-powered generator.
Nigel and Veronica were able to call on the expertise of One Planet team members to carry out the stainless-steel fabrication and electrical installation of the solar panels.
Sadly, the hoped-for trade winds did not materialise for our passage south from Agadir but they have now filled in nicely with Novara departing on the 17th for what looks like a very fast passage to Antigua. The team will continue its climate change adaptation work with a variety of coastal communities across the Caribbean.
This article has been provided by the courtesy of the Ocean Cruising Club.