Ocean Signal Supplies Safety Kit for Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge

Safety at sea specialist Ocean Signal will sponsor the 4-man rowing team in the 2017/18 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge as they bid to become first carbon neutral expedition to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The communication and safety at sea specialist is supplying four rescueME PLB1 Personal Locator Beacons, a SafeSea E100G EPIRB and a SafeSea V100 VHF handheld radio for the ground-breaking attempt which starts in December.

The British-American Carbon Zerow team  of UK-based Kyle Smith and James Lamb, plus Brian Kerr and Philip Van Benthem, who live in Washington DC, face one of the world’s most difficult endurance challenges, but with an additional ambition of setting a precedent for future carbon neutral expeditions and inspiring people to make sustainable lifestyle choices. They have pledged to be carbon neutral, meaning that they have committed to ensuring their project will result in no net increase in the global emission of Green House Gases (GHG).

Carbon Zerow rower Kyle Smith with an Ocean Signal SafeSea VHF handheld radio

Demonstrating their passion for the environment, the rowers will donate all of their proceeds to their charity, World Land Trust, an international conservation charity which protects the world’s most biologically important and threatened habitats.

Kyle said, “We are very pleased to partner with Ocean Signal, one of the world’s leading specialists in marine safety, who will supply all our electrical safety equipment. We want to be competitive in the race, but safety is also a key aspect of our project, so we will feel greatly reassured to be carrying these devices in case of emergencies or if one of us falls overboard.

"In keeping with our sustainability message which we are maintaining for the duration of the project from January 1 2016 until March 31 2018, the Ocean Signal items will be passed onto other rowers or sailors on completion of the race. We want to minimise our environmental impact by taking part in this event, so we are tracking all of our travel and equipment purchases in order to meet the PAS 2060 carbon neutral standard.

"We are reducing our CO2 emissions where we can and will then offset the remaining CO2 emissions that we can do nothing about, such as the emissions required to produce pieces of equipment and our travel emissions from flying and driving. We are also eating no red meat during 2017. Our carbon neutrality claim will be 3rd party verified by The Carbon Trust on conclusion of the project.”

Beginning in early December, the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge is a 4800 km (2600 nm) west-bound crossing from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard English Harbour, Antigua & Barbuda, with up to 30 teams from around the world participating.

Carbon Zerow has been preparing for the race since 2015, ensuring they will be ready to row their 9m boat for 24 hours a day for 40 days or more. They will be rowing two men up while the other two rest, with change overs every two hours. James Hewitt, Sales and Marketing Manager, Ocean Signal, said,

“As a specialist marine company, we are very aware of the issues surrounding climate change and the environment and the impact on our oceans. We are therefore delighted to support such a worthwhile and ambitious project and hope that our equipment provides the Carbon Zerow rowers with peace of mind during their challenge that the rescue services can be contacted quickly in an emergency.”

Ocean Signal’s rescueME PLB1 is the world’s smallest personal locator beacon and is specifically designed to be small and light enough to carry or attach to clothing for instant access to emergency services at the press of a button. The Ocean Signal SafeSea E100G EPIRB  will be attached to the boat and also communicates a survivor’s location to the rescue authorities. It has the longest quoted operational battery life in the industry with enough capacity to operate the EPIRB continuously, typically for four whole days (96 hours).

The rugged and fully waterproof SafeSea V100 VHF features ergonomic design, durable laser etched keypad, high contrast backlit LCD and backlit keys and is supplied with all the 21 international simplex channels required.A highly efficient transmitter helps to maximise the battery life.

                   

  SafeSea V100 VHF; RescueME PLB1; SafeSea E100G EPIRB