Tara Oceans

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Tara has reached the shipyard where she will be for six weeks in Simon's Town (near Cape Town)

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Interview with Etienne Bourgois - "The oceans are our climate, our future, our mother earth and an endless source of dreams."

Etienne Bourgois, Co-Director of Tara Oceans and President of Fonds Tara, reflects on this, the first year of the expedition, on the thinking behind the project and on what will be happening with Tara in the weeks and months that lie ahead.

Tara arrived at Cape Town last weekend, bringing the first year of its expedition to a close...

Yes we’ve turned a first page but the adventure continues.
After a very good month in June, spent studying coral in Mayotte with its mild weather, the team did a great job between Mayotte and Cape Town. Our visit to Europa, one of the French Scattered Islands, was also notable.
Along the Mozambique Channel and in the Agulhas Current many scientific stations were carried out, one of which has been of particular importance in researching the connection between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
 
At the same time Tara celebrated: July 14 saw the crossing from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and the last station of this first year!

What is the schedule for the coming days and weeks?

This week Tara will first be taken out of the water and then she will remain on land for three weeks. This boat is 20 years old and has been very busy since last September. It needs to be thoroughly serviced in order to prepare it for the harsh sailing conditions due to take place in the second year. Once we set off again we will be confronting the end of the southern winter, the Southern Ocean, Antarctica...
 
We have sent a container loaded with tools and equipment to Cape Town which will also serve as a workspace during construction. A specialist team is coming from France. Thereupon, for nearly six weeks, we will be servicing the engines and dismantling the gears (the boat’s gearbox, so to speak). We will also take out the propeller shafts so as to inspect them. Finally the generators, the rigging and the deck fittings will be checked. Basically, as you can see, this won’t be a summer holiday for Tara; she’ll be undergoing a lot of work!
 
What does the second year of Tara Oceans have in store for us?

The boat will set off again on September 5th, exactly one year after it left Lorient (Brittany).
Tara will spend a year in the Southern Hemisphere, first crossing the Southern Atlantic heading for Brazil and then on to Argentina. She will remain in Antarctica for some time. Incidentally, we are very pleased to be rediscovering the Polar world. Then she will sail alongside the Chilean coast, making a detour for Easter Island and then on towards the Galapagos Islands. After that we set sail for the Marquesas Islands and Papeete, eventually bringing the second year to a close in New Zealand.

What is the rationale guiding you?

If we are to do all this, it is to understand the changes taking place on our planet, to understand its biodiversity and its climate system. It is through knowledge and understanding of the phenomena which surrounds us that a solution can emerge. The oceans are our climate, our future, our mother earth and an endless source of dreams. There is still so much to discover!
 
The Tara Oceans expedition has created a new type of mission. We don’t claim to be replacing other oceanographic operations but rather to be complementary.
Tara Oceans has had, right from the beginning, a certain collective vision of the world... This is not the expedition of one man or woman who could possibly have an opinion on everything. It’s a team that brings together people who are knowledgeable within their field, and share the same conviction: to take action.

What is also dear to my heart is the coming together of the public and private sectors within our organization. The Veolia Environment Foundation, who, right from the start, committed to the project for three years, has strengthened its financial support in recent days. The EDF Diversiterre Foundation, similarly, has extended its participation in the adventure. Agnès b., historically has always been a supporter. World Courier, a transportation company, has also committed and is onside.
We are also supported by the CNRS, EMBL, the agglomeration community of Lorient, certain ministries, the Biodiversity Research Foundation, the Region of Brittany and all our partners and suppliers...

And of course we invite the general public to support Tara by making a donation, 66% tax deductible. These donations are already being used, and will be used to support Tara Oceans and our educational program.

Incidentally, what is the situation with the level of funding?

We’re in a very difficult economic period. It’s not easy to find money when it comes to fundamental research and the environment.
But all is not lost. We will continue with the expedition, against the odds over the coming months, thanks to our loyal patrons. If, in the autumn, we haven’t managed to find additional funding, the mission will be reduced in January.

What will you remember from this first year?

So many things!

The scientists on board have done a great job under the charge of Eric Karsenti, Co-Director of Tara Oceans. They took turns being at sea and on land. We had left a little to the unknown but now everything is functioning better. Also the crew, working under Captain Hervé Bourmaud, have given their all. Olivier Marien will be taking over in early September.
Every stage throughout this first year has been wonderful. How lucky to meet people of such different ages, cultures and religions. That has very much enriched the expedition.

We launched our educational platform (www.tarajunior.org).
I also enjoyed the work of the artists who came on board: Remi Hamoir and Benjamin Flaó. I hope we will be able to accommodate many other artists on board.
Working with George Pernoud and the Thalassa teams has also been very positive even if the actual job of shooting onboard is complicated. Four, 52-minute documentaries about the mission will be released at the end of the summer. The media partners are renewing their support.

And finally, I would like to "thank" the pirates of the Indian Ocean for not having bothered us. The voluntary naval control helped us a lot because it really was one of our major concerns.

L'Equipe

  • Eric Karsenti
  • Etienne Bourgois

  • Valérian MORZADEC
  • Et aussi
  • Silvia Gonzalez-Acinas
  • Yann Depays
  • Hervé Bourmaud
  • Jan Wegers
  • Jean-Jacques Kerdraon
  • Stefanie Kandels-Lewis
  • Emmanuel Reynaud
  • François Aurat
  • Fabrice Not
  • Jean Weissenbach
  • Christian Sardet
  • Gaby Gorsky
  • Matthiew Sullivan
  • Colomban de Vargas
  • Chris Bowler
  • Francesca Benzoni
  • Baptiste Regnier
  • Philippe Clais
  • Romain Troublé
  • Éloïse Fontaine
  • Anne Ghuysen Watrin
  • Michael Pitiot
  • Myriam Thomas
  • Didier Velayoudon

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Calendrier Evénements

01/07/2010

Tara Oceans exhibition inside the city of Lorient

01/07/2010

From July 1st until December 2010. Two big issues are especially exhibited: the vessel Tara and the science on board.
 Also, the boat La Thalassa suggests you a visit on the boat or on the dockside. The topics presented are the life on board, fishing and oceanography!

02/06/2010

Tara Oceans press conference at the CNRS

02/06/2010

Etienne Bourgois and Eric Karsenti will make the first balance after one year of expedition. They will describe the newsworthy, the adventure and the discoveries of this first year of exploration.
They will also announce the program for the second year of Tara Oceans.

10/05/2010

Tara is member of the « Explorers Think Thank » as part of the French Environmental reform

10/05/2010

Jean Louis Borloo, the minister of the Ecology, announced on Monday the creation of the « Explorers Think Thank », as part of the French Environmental reform “Grenelle de la mer”.

Members of this society get sponsorships agreement with the Ministry with two objectives: scientific and educational.

“ We have exceptional sailors, incredible explorers (…). We create an explorer Think Thank to give them a public helping hand”, declared Mr. Borloo while lauching this initiative.
The oceanographic vessel Tara is part of the four first projects approved in the program.

Source AFP
Copyright : G. CROSSAY/MEEDDAT

23/03/2010

Come to see the expedtion live at the Cité des Sciences

23/03/2010

Come follow the Tara Oceans expedition in real time at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris

The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is proud to host an educational
exhibit presented by Tara Expeditions. The exhibit, opening  on March 23rd
2010 and on display for a few months, will introduce the Tara Oceans
expedition and its goal, which is none other than improving scientific
knowledge about the micro-organisms populating the oceans of the globe - a
 marine life responsible for half of our planet's oxygen production.

The 120m2 display of the exhibition is divided into three parts, access to
which is free of charge:
- Tara, a research vessel
- The expedition, the journey, Tara in real-time
- Science on board

Practical informations :
Free of charge
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie
30, avenue Corentin-Cariou - 75019 Paris
Metro Stop : Porte de la Villette - Cité des sciences
Open tuesday to saturday,
from 10am to 6pm, sundays from 10am to 7pm,
closed on mondays.

24/02/2010

Release of the last Tara Newspaper !

24/02/2010

The last Tara newspaper is here! : Click here to download Le Journal Tara n°6

09/02/2010

Tara junior website is online! www.tarajunior.org

09/02/2010


Learn while following the pace of the expedition

 www.tarajunior.org is addressed to teachers offering various pedagogical tools (such as pedagogical memorandums, photos, videos, links …) and suggesting the creation of animation for their classes.


The “Club Tara Junior” for budding explorers

The website is also addressed directly to children through the Club Tara Junior proposing to them various educational and informational supports, such as newsletters, experiments, interviews, games and interactive competitions.

www.tarajunior.org

01/02/2010

Tara Oceans, project of the International Year of Biodiversity

01/02/2010

The United Nations proclaimed 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, and people all over the world are working to safeguard this irreplaceable natural wealth and reduce biodiversity loss.

Tara Oceans is a project of the International Year of Biodiversity

23/10/2009

ITW Chris Bowler

23/10/2009

01/09/2009

AFP, partner of Tara Oceans

01/09/2009

Agence France-Presse has decided to provide its support to the Tara-Oceans international scientific expedition.
"The issue here is universal and the adventure singular," states Pierre Louette, CEO of the agency in a press release. "It involves informing as many as possible of the general public increaingly more of what our oceans are suffering, and yet what makes them still so rich, and spread a message of environmental awareness," adds Mr. Louette.
"By contributing through its information distributed to the entire world in science and awareness, the Agency is faithful to its missions," he concludes.