eEnergy supports rowers in world record attempt.

• Norfolk-based trio’s eight-week journey will see them row across the Pacific from California to Hawaii in a bid to raise money to clean up world’s oceans
• The treacherous voyage is believed to have only been completed by 80 people in modern times

Three UK rowers will aim to break a world record for a voyage between California and Hawaii– taking them straight through the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” – in a bid to clean up the world’s oceans.

The Norwich-based crew – Luca Feser, Matt Siely and Cutu Serruys, who are all 28 – will make the trip in the eEnergy Boat in aid of the non-profit group Ocean Cleanup.

They are not only bidding to raise money for Ocean Cleanup, but they also hope to collect data as they travel through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to support clean-up efforts.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which lies in the north Pacific Ocean between the US and Hawaii, is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world.

It covers an estimated surface area of 1.6 million square kilometres, an area three times the size of France. A total of 1.8 trillion plastic pieces are estimated to be floating in the patch – a plastic count that is equivalent to 250 pieces of debris for every human in the world.

Team HODL (which stands for “Hold on for Dear Life”) will embark on the 2,800-mile journey from Monterey, California, to Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi on a journey that is thought to have been completed by just 80 people, in 31 boats, in modern times.

They are hoping to break the world record for the voyage by a three-person crew – which is currently set at 60 days, 17 hours and six minutes.

Luca, a software engineer from Norwich, said that the team’s love of Norfolk’s waterways had given each of them “a real passion” for preserving the Earth’s oceans from plastic pollution.

The crew will set off in the eEnergy Boat – which has been named after lead sponsors eEnergy, a UK Net Zero energy services provider, who have helped make the attempt a reality as part of their work to make Net Zero possible and profitable.

Luca Feser, from Team HODL, said:

“It will be a tough expedition, with six weeks of rowing as we cross two time zones, directly through one of the world’s most polluted stretches of ocean.

“It’s hard to grasp how large these floating garbage patches are – especially because most of us will never see one for ourselves.

“Thanks to eEnergy and our supporters, we are excited to be able to shine a spotlight on plastic pollution in our oceans and the need to look after our planet by cleaning up our oceans and moving to Net Zero emissions as fast as possible.”

Harvey Sinclair, Chief Executive of eEnergy, said:

“Climate action is vitally important and it isn’t just about carbon emissions – it must include the removal of non-degradable plastic from our oceans, too.

“We’re proud to work alongside the inspirational Team HODL. Their herculean effort to help clean up the oceans and create a greener world can act as a sign for everyone in society that we can achieve Net Zero, as long as we collectively choose to take action.”