British Adventurers Dave Cornthwaite and Sarah Outen aim to be the first to Stand Up Paddle (SUP) between Bath and London. The pair, who between them have rowed and paddled across both oceans and continents, are to team up for the first time, to endure a week of Stand Up Paddling across the UK from Bath to London. They are aiming to arrive into London’s Tower Bridge on the 8th June to celebrate World Oceans Day.
Cornthwaite, who once skateboarded across Australia and also paddled the country’s longest river, and Outen, who rowed solo across the Indian Ocean last year, are measuring their trip in Blue Miles, which are miles travelled on or besides the water. The dynamic duo are both Ambassadors of The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment, the UK’s newest mass-participation event which encourages participants to swim, paddle or walk for our seas. They are planning for 100’s of paddlers to join them for sections of the trip aiming to amass a total of 1000 Blue Miles before they reach their finish line at Tower Bridge.
“Fusing sport and travel is a great way to enthuse people about the Blue environment in which they play and train,” Cornthwaite says, “there’s no better way to celebrate the spirit of British Adventure than travelling through our own country with an ever-growing group of strangers joining our ranks.”
“SUP is similar to surfing, but it’s much easier as you use a paddle to get around – a bit like punting,” said Sarah. “I love anything that allows me to travel on water and get close to nature. As a sport it is great because it is so accessible and versatile – it can be done virtually anywhere by anyone, plus it’s a great way to keep fit.”
The 150 mile route isn’t just a straightforward paddle, as 114 locks – or portages – lie between Bath and London. Effectively, Cornthwaite and Outen are taking on the route of the famous Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race, with another 25 miles on top.
The Blue Bath 2 London is being supported by Sport Environment and will promote the Blue Climate and Oceans Project, an initiative that works with sports men and women to harnesses the popularity of adventure sports that showcase the natural environment.
Other supporting sponsors include Spaceships Campervans, Starboard, Africa & Asia Venture, Palm Equipment Europe, Cotswold Outdoor, Nakd Wholefoods and the Family Adventure Store.
Sport Environment, the organiser of The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment is today delighted to announce that it has chosen swimming goggle guru Aqua Sphere as its Official Swim Partner. Aqua Sphere is the name behind the world’s most innovative award winning goggles and masks and is currently the fastest growing brand in UK swimming, providing everything a swimmer needs from caps to swimwear to wet suits. The new partnership will see Aqua Sphere supply 1200 branded swim caps as well as assorted winners’ prizes and adds to Aqua Sphere’s strategic list of high quality event partnerships for 2010.
The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment is the UK’s newest mass-participation event designed to engage people actively with our blue environment. Open to everyone, participants are invited to complete a mile in, on or next to a water environment to raise vital support and money for WWF-UK, the world’s leading conservation organisation. Participants can choose to swim, kayak, sail or even just walk – the options are almost endless! The inaugural event will take place in Plymouth on 3rd July 2010 and additional waterfront cities are being invited to take part in future events. The event has been created to increase participation in our natural environment and provide a learning experience to help encourage more people to take steps to care for the health of our planet.
Conrad Humphreys, CEO of Sport Environment says: “It is fantastic that one of the world’s leading swim brands has agreed to partner with The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment. Our aim is to create the UK’s most inclusive water-based, mass-participation event. We look forward to the inaugural event in July and to developing many more of these events nationwide to create an annual phenomenon which is fun to participate in whilst helping to raise vital support and money for the world’s leading conservation organisation. Aqua Sphere’s endorsement is a superb support. ”
Martin Newton, Sales & Marketing Manager for Aqua Sphere says: ” We are delighted to partner with The Blue Mile and we believe its ethos to engage people actively with our blue environment is extremely worthy and shows huge integrity and compassion for our landscape. We look forward to a great opening event in Plymouth and to a long term relationship as this series develops. ”
22.04.10 Sport Environment, the organiser of The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment is today delighted to announce that the University of Plymouth has agreed to become the Event Official Host City Partner. This timely announcement which coincides with Earth Day will see the University take a central role in providing a learning and marine-educational zone in the Event Village and it will also enable a series of free water sports activities to be available for young people to take their first steps in the blue environment.
The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment is the UK’s newest mass-participation event designed to engage people actively with our blue environment. Open to everyone, participants are invited to complete a mile in, on or next to a water environment to raise vital support and money for WWF-UK, the world’s leading conservation organisation. Participants can choose to swim, kayak, sail or even just walk – the options are almost endless! The inaugural event will take place in Plymouth on 3rd- 4th July 2010. The event has been created to increase participation in our natural environment and provide a learning experience to help encourage more people to take steps to care for the health of our planet.
The University of Plymouth, and its Faculty of Science and Technology, will be supporting the Environmental Zone in the Event Village, where the public will find plenty of hands-on activities to showcase our involvement with the marine environment, including the biology of the area and the latest technology by way of immersive vision theatres, weather simulators and even a “Shark”robot that will swim part of the Blue Mile course!
The Event Village, which will be based next to the Mayflower Steps on Plymouth’s Barbican, will be themed around sport, healthy living and a clean environment and will provide a range of activities from key partner organisations and exhibitors that include the National Marine Aquarium, Tamar Estuaries Consultative Forum, the Marine Biological Association, the National Trust, South West Lakes Trust, Nuffield Health and Natural England.
The University, together with the Environment Agency, will also be supporting the on-water activities, to enable a number of free and low cost taster sessions to encourage greater participation in our blue environment from young and disadvantaged groups across the City. Working with the Mount Batten Centre, Reactive Watersports, Plymouth Youth Sailing, Horizons Sailing Charity, Plymouth Children’s Services and Tinside Lido the Blue Mile aims to offer a series of watersports activities for families and young people so that they can experience the wonderful opportunities that Plymouth Sound can offer.
Professor Wendy Purcell , Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth, said: “We are delighted to be one of the Official Host City Partners of the Blue Mile event. This is a fantastic opportunity to connect the young people in our region and beyond with not only the breath-taking natural resources we have here in Plymouth, but also some of the key issues affecting our environment.
“For the University, with its leading reputation for marine excellence and commitment to community engagement, this is a natural event for us to be a part of. It is a great example of partnership in Plymouth, and we are especially proud to support Conrad, who is an alumnus of the University.”
Conrad Humphreys, Sport Environment says: “It is fantastic that one of Europe’s leading marine universities has agreed to partner with The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment. Their support has opened up the event to encourage greater participation from young people across the City and together we will be working hard to inspire more people to enjoy our marine and coastal environment.”
Plymouth was treated to a taste of things to come yesterday when the Plymouth Summer Festival launched the 2010 Festival brochure with a mini-festival on the Piazza.
Plymouth Summer Festival 2010 Launch Event
Now in its fourth action packed year, Plymouth Summer Festival boasts an impressive line-up of local, national and international events. The Festival brochure is all-important as it contains details of what’s on in the city over the summer months, including the vast range of maritime, music, art and street events.
The brochure launch on the Piazza yesterday featured, The Blue Mile – race for the environment as a headline event for 2010 as well as the Lord Mayors Day, Devon Wildlife Trust/Springwatch, the icci360 cinema as well as a range of food stalls and chef demonstrations representing foodies’ favourite Flavour Fest, all set to music and dancing from the Barbican International Jazz and Blues Festival.
Conrad Humphreys, Managing Director of Sport Environment Ltd, comments: “It feels like the start of summer today. Hopefully people will start thinking of getting their wetsuits out and dusting off their surfboards, and get involved in sport and healthy activities”.
For more details on how to sign up for The Blue Mile 2010, please go to www.thebluemile.org.
A “PERFECT partnership” involving the National Marine Aquarium will create a mile-long coastal walk to help raise awareness of the marine environment. Read on…
PLYMOUTH UK (Thursday 25th March 2010) The National Marine Aquarium has joined The Blue Mile as an official support partner to encourage people to walk The Blue Mile around Plymouth’s historical waterfront on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th July.
For those who want to take part in the ‘Race for the Environment’, but don’t fancy getting wet, the National Marine Aquarium are sponsoring The Blue Mile Walk and you can register for free at www.national-aquarium.co.uk. The one mile walk will start at the Aquarium and finishes at West Hoe taking in some spectacular views of The Sound and the opportunity to catch not only the water-based activity below but also to take in some stunning scenery as well.
Everyone who takes part will receive a map with a guide on what possible marine life you could spot and a certificate once the walk is complete. So if there’s someone you know taking part in the water you can do your bit on foot! The walk is suitable for families – so get the children involved. The mile walk is unsupervised so start when you want and take as long as you’d like.
The National Marine Aquarium will also be running workshops for children throughout the two days in the Blue Mile Event Village.
Paul Cox, Head of Science and Learning
‘’We’re very excited to be part of the Blue Mile – Race for the Environment and to give the opportunity for more people to take part through Walking. We are passionate that as many people as possible spend as much time as possible in, on or by the sea. This event is a great chance to get people engaged and hopefully feel the benefits of spending time in the natural environment.”
Conrad Humphreys, Sport Environment
“It’s great that the UK’s largest Aquarium has teamed up with the Blue Mile to sponsor the Walk. I hope everyone that takes part in the Event will visit the National Marine Aquarium to understand a little bit more about our undersea world and what they can do to look after it.”
The Blue Mile joined a host of exhibitors at the Explore the Outdoors Show, at Plymouth Pavilions last weekend. As a family event themed around Adventure, Travel, Adrenalin and Watersports the Explore the Outdoors Show was a great opportunity to exhibit and promote The Blue Mile here in the south west
Over 2000 people visited show which was headlined by renowned bushcraft expert and nature lover, Ray Mears who opened the show. Visitors to The Blue Mile stand were able to learn more about the UK’s newest mass-participation, open water event. They also had the opportunity to take part in The Blue Mile Challenge to see who could row the furthest distance in just one minute. Hundreds took part, collectively rowing 14.2 miles over the course of the weekend and generating enough natural energy to power a television for 30 minutes. The winners of The Blue Mile rowing competition are:
Men
James Wade who rowed 375 meters
Ladies
Amy Mann who rowed 290 meters
Don’t forget to enter online using your discount code if you attended the Show, we look forward to seeing you in July
PLYMOUTH, UK (11th March 2010) Sport Environment, the organiser of The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment, today announce an exciting new partnership with the conservation organisation WWF-UK. The announcement by Sport Environment was made together with WWF and round the world sailor, Conrad Humphreys who is founder of the Blue Climate and Oceans Project.
The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment is the UK’s newest mass-participation event designed to engage people actively with our blue environment. The event which is open to everyone to take part, aims to increase participation in our natural environment and provide a learning experience to help encourage more people to take steps to care for the health of our planet.
Today’s announcement will mean that WWF will become the Official Charity Partner of The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment and will be working with Sport Environment to raise awareness of the threats facing our world’s oceans and the need to protect our seas.
Monica Dolan, Sponsored Events Manager at WWF-UK says:
“The Blue Mile is a fantastic opportunity to educate and inspire people to value our marine environment. The UK is blessed with 20,000km of coastline, and diverse marine life and habitats ranging from deep sea corals to harbour porpoises. However our seas are facing increasing pressures, and now, with the threat of climate change, it is more important than ever that we protect our marine biodiversity. By completing a Blue Mile, businesses, schools, and individuals can show they care about our oceans and help raise crucial funding to support WWF’s conservation projects.”
Conrad Humphreys, founder of the Blue Mile said:
“It is often said that sport is intimately connected to nature and for some athletes it is the relationship with the environment that inspires and motivates them. One of the key aims of the Blue Mile is to encourage an active community who can respond and find ways to contribute to the health of our planet. Our relationship with WWF will provide opportunities for everyone to form stronger links with our marine and natural environment.
As part of the ethos of the Blue Mile, we are looking for organisations that like to do well by doing good. The Corporate Blue Mile is designed to deliver a fantastic team building experience for your employees and a chance to work with your chosen charity and support them by raising funds. We have put together a simple kit that offers your company and charity some great exposure in the event and a chance to reach thousands of people.
We are looking for organisations that are up for a challenge to swim, kayak or paddle the Blue Mile and raise some serious cash for charity. The first 10 companies to sign up to the Blue Mile Corporate Challenge 2010, will also feature in our Western Morning News advert, that will run during the Event weekend.
Don’t miss out, we have a limited supply of Kayaks and Paddleboards, so book early to avoid disappointment.
British Adventurers Dave Cornthwaite and Sarah Outen aim to be the first to Stand Up Paddle (SUP) between Bath and London. The pair, who between them have rowed and paddled across both oceans and continents, are to team up for the first time, to endure a week of Stand Up Paddling across the UK from Bath to London. They are aiming to arrive into London’s Tower Bridge on the 8th June to celebrate World Oceans Day.
Sport Environment, the organiser of The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment is today delighted to announce that it has chosen swimming goggle guru Aqua Sphere as its Official Swim Partner. Aqua Sphere is the name behind the world’s most innovative award winning goggles and masks and is currently the fastest growing brand in UK swimming, providing everything a swimmer needs from caps to swimwear to wet suits. The new partnership will see Aqua Sphere supply 1200 branded swim caps as well as assorted winners’ prizes and adds to Aqua Sphere’s strategic list of high quality event partnerships for 2010.
22.04.10 Sport Environment, the organiser of The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment is today delighted to announce that the University of Plymouth has agreed to become the Event Official Host City Partner. This timely announcement which coincides with Earth Day will see the University take a central role in providing a learning and marine-educational zone in the Event Village and it will also enable a series of free water sports activities to be available for young people to take their first steps in the blue environment.
PLYMOUTH UK (Thursday 25th March 2010) The National Marine Aquarium has joined The Blue Mile as an official support partner to encourage people to walk The Blue Mile around Plymouth’s historical waterfront on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th July.
The Blue Mile joined a host of exhibitors at the Explore the Outdoors Show, at Plymouth Pavilions last weekend. As a family event themed around Adventure, Travel, Adrenalin and Watersports the Explore the Outdoors Show was a great opportunity to exhibit and promote The Blue Mile here in the south west
PLYMOUTH, UK (11th March 2010) Sport Environment, the organiser of The Blue Mile – Race for the Environment, today announce an exciting new partnership with the conservation organisation WWF-UK. The announcement by Sport Environment was made together with WWF and round the world sailor, Conrad Humphreys who is founder of the Blue Climate and Oceans Project.
