Source : CNN
(CNN)She’s witnessed awe-inspiring sights at sea, but yachtswoman Dee Caffari has also been left “dumbfounded” by the vast floating islands of plastic and rubbish she has seen in the world’s oceans.
As the first woman to have sailed single-handedly around the world in both directions, Caffari has seen up close the harmful effects of man’s activities, from global warming and the northward drift of icebergs in the Southern Ocean to the plastic pollution that is threatening ecosystems and impacting on the human food chain.
To help raise awareness of declining ocean health and add some science to the debate, Caffari is skippering the Turn the Tide on Plastic boat in this year’s Volvo Ocean Race, sailing’s premier around-the-world competition.
“I feel very privileged to have the ocean as a playground and a work office, and yet I can see first-hand some of the damage we’re doing,” Caffari told CNN Sport.