CNES sets sail with the Vendée Globe
10 November 2004
7 November. The skippers of the 20 boats moored at Les Sables d’Olonne are getting ready to depart on the Vendée Globe yacht race, cheered by a crowd of 300,000. For the high-school children there, as well for many other schools across France, the start of the race held a special significance. As part of a project led with CNES, 4 skippers have agreed to release buoys fitted with Argos transmitters during the race to collect data that will be posted on line for classes in real time.
Buoy overboard…
Four years ago, Michel Desjoyaux and Ellen Mac Arthur—the eventual winner and runner-up—took part in CNES’s Argonautica project, releasing buoys to enable schools to track the major ocean currents.
This time round, Argonautica has teamed with ULCO**, the E.C.O.L.E de la mer** in La Rochelle and non-profit association AET** in Haute-Savoie. Four skippers are carrying Argonautica buoys in this year’s race: Joe Seeten, Karen Leibovici, Benoit Parnaudeau and Dominique Wavre. For the operation called All aboard around the world - Vendée Globe 2004 – 2005, each of them will be releasing two buoys at strategic locations.
- The first buoy will be released from next week in the Atlantic, near the Equator. The exact spot will be defined according to the skipper’s position and after analysing the weekly Mercator ocean bulletin derived from measurements collected at sea and from satellite data.
- The second buoy will be released in December in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, near the Kerguelen and Crozet islands, where scientists are studying movements of penguins, albatross, sea elephants and other wildlife using miniature Argos transmitters.
Real-time data
For the classes taking part, this project is a unique adventure that began just a few days ago when the skippers were given their buoys on the day of the race start. Pupils will soon be able to access animal tracking data in real time over the Internet, thanks to the buoys released by the skippers.
A class from the Collège Cantelande in Bordeaux with Joe Seeten, receiving his buoy. Crédits: CNES
CNES also organizes meetings between classes, race skippers and scientists using the satellite data… All in all, plenty to fire the imagination and look forward to an exciting adventure!
* Argonautica is a programme developed by CNES to provide teaching materials about the ocean and the marine environment for primary schools and high schools.
** ULCO: Université du littoral Côte d’Opale
ECOLE de la mer: Espace de Culture Océane du Littoral et de l’Environnement
AET: Allo l’Espace ici la Terre
** ULCO: Université du littoral Côte d’Opale
ECOLE de la mer: Espace de Culture Océane du Littoral et de l’Environnement
AET: Allo l’Espace ici la Terre
