Six months across the ocean — and a look at the world beneath

October 23, 2023
Ocean Race winner Charlie Enright has circumnavigated the globe three times and is coming to URI on Nov. 2 to discuss his “Six Months Across the Ocean” and what he discovered about ocean health. Photo by Amory Ross / 11th Hour Racing

Rhode Island skipper has circumnavigated the globe three times; to report on ocean health at URI after winning Ocean Race

October 23, 2023

Charlie Enright, skipper of The Ocean Race-winning 11th Hour Race Team, will present a lecture on his “Six Months Across the Ocean,” and what he discovered about ocean health, at the University of Rhode Island, Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m.

The event, which is the URI Graduate School of Oceanography’s annual Charles and Marie Fish Lecture, will take place in Edwards Hall on URI’s Kingston Campus. The talk is free and open to the public.

Enright has circumnavigated the globe three times and is the first American skipper to lead a U.S. team to victory and hoist the iconic trophy in The Ocean Race’s 50-year history. Enright and his 11th Hour Racing Team overcame many challenges over six months as they sailed seven legs, visited four continents, and covered 32,000 nautical miles racing around the world.

Enright’s talk is this year’s annual Graduate School of Oceanography Fish Lecture and will take place on URI’s Kingston Campus.

Enright is a native Rhode Islander from Bristol. Raised in a boatbuilding family, he’s also sailed in the Volvo Ocean Race and appeared in the sailing documentary Morning Light. As skipper of 11th Hour Racing’s team, Enright’s goal is to use the platform of becoming Ocean Race winners to educate fans about today’s environmental concerns and inspire them to do their part to benefit ocean health and the planet. The team centered sustainability at the core of all its operations, to demonstrate to sailing fans worldwide about the climate crisis, ocean health and sustainability.

“We’ve been to some of the most remote locations in the world,” he says. “Seeing the evidence of human impact in places where you wouldn’t expect it is disconcerting to say the least.”

“As a planet-positive sailing team, we want to provide tangible solutions for the future and share about new innovation. 11th Hour tries to provide real solutions for local problems to make a difference.”

And he’s happy to bring that message to the place where he got his own start in sailing. “This is a precious asset we have,” he says. “In Rhode Island, the ocean is in our name. We have a responsibility to preserve this resource that is so important to everyday life here, and important to life no matter where you live.”

A trophy, and a talk, for Rhode Island

As final champions of The Ocean Race, the 11th Hour Racing Team brought the iconic trophy home to Rhode Island, U.S.A. for the first time in history.

At URI, Enright will share firsthand observations on the health of the ocean planet and be joined by the Graduate School of Oceanography’s Victoria Fulfer and Martha McConnell, who will discuss global microplastics research conducted in collaboration with The Ocean Race.

Victoria Fulfer is a Ph.D. candidate at URI GSO; her research there focuses on marine microplastic pollution worldwide, from Narragansett Bay to Vietnam. In the spring, Fulfer worked in collaboration with The Ocean Race to analyze plastics in the surface ocean while teams collected samples on their race around the world. Learn more about Fulfer’s research during the Ocean Race here and in a video interview.

Martha McConnell is an associate teaching professor at the Graduate School of Oceanography. McConnell has participated in four expeditions to Antarctica, served as delegate to the Arctic Council, and as a visiting professor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. She has directed studies for the National Academy of Sciences and served as co-chair of the One Ocean Exploration Zone, Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover in 2018. She is a member of the Explorers Club.

McConnell says, “This is a tremendous opportunity for the URI community to hear about Charlie’s experiences in high-performance sailing and learn about global ocean health and sustainability. He brings a unique perspective having sailed around the world three times with this race, and along the way being a leader in promoting sustainability among the global sailing and boating community for nearly a decade.”

11th Hour Racing, title sponsor of the 11th Hour Racing Team, works within the sports, maritime, and coastal communities to advance solutions and practices that protect and restore the health of our ocean. The organization was co-founded by philanthropist and ocean advocate Wendy Schmidt, a URI honorary degree recipient in 2023, and the first woman and first American to win the world’s largest sailing race in 2022. Based in Newport, 11th Hour Racing works to raise awareness of the importance of ocean health.

The Charles and Marie Fish Lecture is an annual public lecture endowed by the family of Drs. Charles and Marie Fish. The Fishes established a marine biological program at the University of Rhode Island in 1935 and eventually a graduate program in oceanography at the Narragansett Marine Laboratory, which later became URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography. Enright joins a roster of distinguished speakers in the series including Jennifer Francis, Woodwell Climate Research Center; Robert Ballard, professor of oceanography; Christopher Landsea, National Hurricane Center; Paul Greenberg, author of American Catch; Rod Salm, the Nature Conservancy; Blaine Harden, the New York Times; Kathryn Sullivan, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist and former astronaut; Charles Alexander, Time magazine; and Sir Crispin Tickell, United Nations.

More information and free tickets are available online.