Ambassadors
Supporting our oceans
Bouwe Bekking
Professional sailor, seven time participant of the Volvo Ocean Race, former captain of team Brunel
“Plastic is killing our oceans. If we don’t take action it will have a huge negative impact on all life on our planet! Do something about it, a great begin is to start looking at your own behavior regarding the usage of plastic…”
“Especially the sailing community shall be leading into creating awareness how bad the situation is with our oceans. We see with our own eyes when we are on the water how much plastic there is. From my first round the world race in 1985 to my last one, it was there night and day. There are now hardly any areas anymore where you don’t see plastic in the water daily. Therefore we sailors should do everything in our power to create awareness. But we should lead also by example: for example a very simple thing, banning your own usage of plastic bags and plastic bottles. Be active as well with the clean up, when I see a piece of plastic I pick it up and throw it in a rubbish bin.”
Anoûl Hendriks
Radio DJ at 3FM
“Sailing with the team of By the Ocean we Unite on their first expedition my eyes were opened to worldwide plastic pollution. My first contribution: nowadays in our radio studio we drink everything from paper mugs, instead of plastic. We can’t live without coffee at the radio, but we sure can without plastic. I support this great team in their battle against plastic pollution!”
Jan Terlouw
Writer, environmentalist, former politician
“We have created an enormous plastic soup in three oceans and we have over-fished many species of fish. I support the mission of By the Ocean we Unite: preventing plastic pollution. Together we strive for a future with healthy oceans on an earth worth living in.”
Permanent crew
Huub Veeneman
Captain of the Fantastiko
“In 2013 I bought an amazing ship: the sea sailing-expedition-ship ‘Fantastiko’. This big vessel has been build in a youth-project by the Dutch government, the province of North-Holland. Hundreds of young people and professionals created this beautiful ship to prepare it for inspiring sailing expeditions. I quit my job and started sailing on the sea with people, my big dream…”
“In 2015, I met Thomas. What a motivating and young visionairy who creates, with his great team, new ideas about saving and contributing to our planet Earth. I am impressed by how this organization is communicating with people and their vision for new possibilities for the world.
Therefore, me, my ship and my crew are happy to contribute to the goals and the inspiring sailing expeditions of By The Ocean We Unite.”
Wieteke
Mate
“Sailing is my love, my life. I really love to be on the water, on the move, on my way to somewhere over there. It doesn’t really matter where that place might be. Up to Norway 2016 has been the first expedition I joined for By the Ocean we Unite. I loved the atmosphere aboard. Lovely happy people with a mission. They have a goal which they are trying to achieve in a positive manner…”
“They made me be aware of the problem about plastic. Eversince the trip I feel like I can make a difference. Together we can do.”
Anna Hagemann & Aart Puper
Captains of the Lauwerszee
”Since 2012 we are the proud owners of the sailing passenger ship “Lauwerszee”. We offer sailing trips to the Dutch islands over the Unesco World Heritage waters the Waddenzee. The Waddenzee is an important habitat for many fish, birds, shells and seals. The shallow and relatively warm water of the Waddenzee offers a rich diversity of sea life..”
..and is of great ecological value.
In 2016 we came in contact with By the Ocean we Unite. Their story was a real eye opener:
The fact that 88 % of the surface of the ocean is polluted with miniscule pieces of plastic and causes many sea life to die; And the fact that the amount of plastic ending up in our oceans keeps growing, knowing that the plastic will never disappear out of the ecosystem, makes it into one of the biggest environmental problems of our times.
We are very happy we can contribute to awareness of this problem by offering sailing expeditions in cooperation with by the ocean we unite, showing the beauty of the Waddenzee and creating awareness of the problem that is threatening our sea life.”
Expedition members
Nadim Bou-Rached
Expedition Up to Norway (2016)
“By the Ocean we Unite has given me an unforgettable journey “Up to Norway”; a beautiful sailing experience combined with contributing for cleaner/plastic free oceans. The trip was very well organized with valuable information upfront, a balanced program during the trip and good attention afterwards. I have got to know a lot of beautiful minds and I am far more aware about our plastic consumption and how to reduce it!”
Rob Koetsier
Expedition Up to Norway (2016)
“Hi, my name is Rob Koetsier, I am forester at Staatsbosbeheer in the Netherlands (I take care of nature reserves) and I was one of the four expedition member of the first By the Ocean we Unite trip to Norway. Through my work I am confronted daily with a serious problem: litter. Litter that for the largest part consists of plastic. Most of it is being left behind heedlessly in our nature reserves. On an annual base we’re talking huge volumes…”
“Part of it is being cleaned by workers, but part of it also ends up in our oceans. I wanted so see with my own eyes what effect that has. And then I figured, what better way than to find that out sailing across our North Sea? That’s why I decided to join the first expedition of By the Ocean we Unite. During the trip we collected and analysed surface water samples. I found it shocking how many tiny plastic particles you can filter from the water of our North Sea, which looks pretty clean at first sight. Everyone should be made aware of this. By the Ocean we Unite increases this awareness and I fully supported that. Let’s all try to make this world, our land and our oceans a bit cleaner, because this pollution is unnecessary.”
Fabio Bartali
Expedition Up to Norway (2016)
“This trip has been impressive in so many ways, the BTOWU crew has been very inspiring with their views and gave the expedition members a lot to think about. I already knew there is a lot of plastic waste, but during our trip up to Norway it became clear to me that it’s a lot worse than we all think. Minute particles of plastic are everywhere and end up in places where you least expect it. There are things you can do about plastic pollution, there’s..”
”..still a long journey ahead but with By the Ocean we Unite at the helm we’re heading in the right direction!”
Patricia Villarrubia
Expedition Up to Norway (2016)
“During expedition Up to Norway, and the experiences that followed it up, I’ve learned how much we underestimate the power of individual acts. “Up to Norway” is a clear example of how we ALL can improve, create and implement solutions, just by sharing information and applying small changes in our daily life. From the knowledge of senior researchers at Bergen University to the spontaneous acts driven by..”
”..passion of primary school kids, we can all learn from each other and do something. Improving the health of our marine ecosystems is in our hands, here and now. I was impressed by the response of the BTOWU crew and the expedition members; never mind our previous backgrounds (university teacher, a radio DJ, an environmental scientist, sailor or filmmaker) we all came together open minded to talk, share and work in one of the major environmental and social problems we have to face nowadays”