(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- French sailor Philippe Poupon who is visiting Oman with his family as part of his world tour lauded the country's beautiful coastline and its rich marine environment.
Poupon is in Oman with his wife Géraldine Danon and two children after travelling around the world for seven years on their 60ft ketch Fleur Australe.
The family arrived from Djibouti, after travelling through the Suez Canal and across the Gulf of Aden to Salalah and finally in Muscat. During a press conference at the Marina Bandar al Rowdha on Wednesday, Poupon said, 'We spent seven years criss-crossing the planet to highlight and raise awareness regarding climate change and marine pollution. It has been a great experience.
'We took precautions and sped fast through dangerous places like Somalia and Yemen because of pirates. We traversed the length and breadth of the country starting from Salalah to Duqm, Masirah Island, Ras al Jinz, Muscat, Damaniyat Island, Nizwa and Musandam.'
He added that the main purpose of the trip was to spread knowledge regarding seas and oceans. 'Oman has a long coastline with some of the best marine life and clean water. We also undertook activities like beach clean-up event and environmental awareness festival organised by the Environmental Society of Oman on Masirah Island,' he said.
The French-flagged yacht left Alaska in 2010 on a long-term expedition to raise awareness about the effects of climate change and provide real-time observations on the state of the oceans. Poupon, 62, who is widely known as 'Philou' in France, was a member of the legendary Eric Tabarly's crew in the 1977-78 Whitbread round-the-world race.
His wife Géraldine is a well-known film and theatre actress in France, as well as a stage director and producer. The family started their cruise this year in February from Istanbul and have been to Beirut in Lebanon, to Port Said in Egypt, following the Suez Canal they travelled to Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti from where they arrived in Salalah.
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