Thanks to Lorraine Leo for passing on information about Sites Alive where Skipper Rich Wilson shares his voyage of the Vendee Globe with students. The VendÃ©e Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance. Somewhat fortuitously, I was teaching latitude and longitude with Year 7 today and thinking back to 2005 when we followed Ellen Macarthur’s world-beating circumnavigation from start to finish. She’s not taking part in the Vendee Globe, so we’re all behind Rich Wilson, not least because Sites Alive offers a really good teachers guide along with photos, videos and lots of other resources. Following an ocean race is a great way to teach latitude and longitude, as well as a host of related environmental and geographical issues.
Maybe we should have a pupil vote in case we get sued by parents? Or maybe I’ll get half the class to follow Rich and the others Dee!