Starting at 6am, trash-collection boats "receiving GPS coordinates will sweep up debris before each day of Olympic sailing kicks off in Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay," according to Stephen Wade of the AP. World Sailing CEO Andy Hunt acknowledged that Rio "is difficult." He "raised an unfavorable comparison with the yacht-filled New England harbor of Newport." He said, "We wouldn't be out sailing in Newport with spotting helicopters and eco-boats." Hunt "ran off a list of other stop-gaps to sail in Guanabara" with the Olympics opening in just over four weeks: floating barriers to keep rubbish from entering the bay, using naturally-occurring microbes to break down pollutants, and hygiene briefings for sailors and staff. Hunt: "Over the last couple of years they've mapped where the rubbish tends to collect. And a lot is based on tidal flows and wind conditions. So rubbish typically collects in certain places." Hunt said that he will "cancel racing -- or move to courses in the open Atlantic -- if, for instance, heavy rains flood the bay with tree branches, animal carcasses, or plastic bags washed down from the surrounding hillside slums." He said, "We will take tough decisions. If we go out and we're not confident that a field of play can be absolutely clear, it will be moved. If there are no safe racing areas, we will just postpone racing until we can get confident." Rio state officials have acknowledged a "real cleanup of Guanabara will take 20 years -- organizers promised to do it for the Olympics" (AP, 7/7).
