Photo © Hemmenhofen Sailing School
The two 18-year-olds Elias Fauser and Max Gasser circumnavigated Lake Constance in 21:30 hours in sailing boats in the Laser class
No one in this boat class has ever officially mastered this challenge before
With their “Lake Constance Challenge”, the two young men are drawing attention to the threat posed by microplastics to local waters
“It was exciting, exhausting and thrilling,” reports Max Gasser in an initial reaction. The “Lake Constance Challenge” was not only a great sporting challenge, but also served the purpose of campaigning against the pollution of Lake Constance by microplastics – a growing problem, as Elias Fauser, who said in the run-up to the event, is also aware: “We sailors get very close to the water as an element that makes up more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface. You can really feel what a unique habitat this is. When Max and I came up with the idea for the challenge during a lull at the German Youth Championships in the Laser Radial last year, it was immediately clear to us that we wanted to use this campaign to promote the preservation of our local waters.”
With their challenge, Max Gasser and Elias Fauser collected donations to support the fight against microplastics in European inland waters. The Global Nature Fund and the Lake Constance Foundation are also working towards this goal as part of their joint EU-funded LIFE Blue Lakes project, which supports municipalities in reducing the pollution of their waters with microplastics.