An event banner for The Ocean Race Europe 2025 event. Two thirds of the banner are a blue themed map, showing the race course starting and Kiel, going through Portsmouth, Matosinhos-Porto, Cartagena, Nice, Genova, and ending at Boka Bay. The bottom of the banner has the event logo written in white and yellow in all capital letters on a dark blue colour background.

Kiel, Germany – home to our partner GEOMAR – hosted the start of the highly anticipated Ocean Race Europe after a four year hiatus from its inaugural event in 2021.

Before the race started on the 10th of August, festivities were afoot from the 6th of August at the Ocean Live Park which offered ocean literacy activities for learners of all ages, and events that convened science, policy, sailing and industry together under the theme: Connecting Europe for a Smart Ocean.

During the Ocean Race Summit Kiel, an event to unite ocean experts, sailors, and policymakers, TRICUSO colleague Toste Tanhua (GEOMAR) participated in a panel discussion along with Kate Larkin (EMODnet) and professional sailors Boris Hermann (Team Malizia) and Rosalin Kuiper (Team Holcim-PRB), participants in the race whose yachts have been equipped with scientific instruments. Moderated by Arianna Liconti (Ocean Citizen Science expert and mediator) and exploring how to best scale up participative ocean data collection, the discussion focused on how measurements from citizen science platforms are helping scientists to deliver high-quality data, and how this cross-discipline community can collectively build trust for wider society, ensure data accessibility and inspire long-term impact.

Picture taken from the audience of a panel of 4 people. From left to right: a blond woman, a man with a microphone, and a male and female skipper. The panel is moderated by a woman with dark curls, sitting on the right side of them. The panel is sitting in front of a screen with a colourful slide show titled: "Science onboard: Scaling up participative ocean data collection" with the names of all the panellists.
Scientists and Sailors at the Ocean Race Summit in Kiel discussing how to best scale up participative ocean data collection. From left to right: Kate Larkin, Toste Tanhua, Boris Hermann, Rosalin Kuiper and Arianna Liconti.

Meanwhile on the pontoon, more specifically from the deck of the Malizia, team member Will Harris was happy to discuss his passion for sailing and science, saying, “We’re lucky that we get to compete in round the world races. But we’re really lucky that we get to contribute to science, to help understand our ocean better. We are racing around the world through the South Pacific and the Southern Ocean, where very few vessels go. So we’re one of the few boats that can collect data in these areas. And, we can access these remote parts without using fossil fuels. We’re powered purely by sail and by renewable energy. So to be able to access these areas and collect this data is a really unique opportunity that we have to try and exploit as much as possible.”

A man in a black T-shirt and blue jeans, wearing sunglasses, posing for a picture on a racing yacht.
Team member Will Harris on the deck of the Malizia (photo: SSBE).

Stay tuned for more from Will and for updates on which racing teams will be hosting the enhanced TRICUSO Ocean Pack for the Ocean Race – Around the World in January 2027.

A TRICUSO-branded banner standing on GEOMAR’s Research Vessel, The Alkor. The banner contains the TRICUSO logo, a short description of the project, QR codes to the website and the LinkedIn page, all partner logos and a EU funding statement.
Anyone visiting GEOMAR’s Research Vessel, The Alkor during the Ocean Race Europe festivities in Kiel had a chance to become acquainted with TRICUSO through the strategically placed roll-up (photo: SSBE).
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