Racing with Copepods

Despite what you might think, copepods are not the latest, greatest racing dinghies. They’re tiny crustaceans that scientists believe are the fastest animals on earth. Three meters per second might not sound like a lot, but if you scale the proportions up to the size of a human, it’s somewhere in the range of 6-12 miles per second! They also happen to be bio-indicators for the health of the world’s oceans.

Marin’s Barbara McVeigh, formerly of Sailing Education Adventures (SEA), is an independent filmmaker with a passion for the sea. Last summer, she worked with director Carlos Graña to produce Racing with Copepods, an 18-minute film that follows 12 school kids as they learn about the environment through sailing on the Bay in Picos and aboard the Wyliecat 65 Derek M. Baylis. "They connect with the natural marine world and meet Her Deepness, oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, to share a message of advocacy and hope for a healthy blue planet," says McVeigh.

Racing With Copepods trailer from Bazooka Mama Productions on Vimeo.

The film, narrated by San Francisco’s Kimball Livingston, premiers at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow, January 22, at the Randall Museum, 199 Museum Way in Corona Heights Park, San Francisco. It’s free and open to the public, though donations to benefit SEA are encouraged. Seating is limited, so RSVP by email. Early birds will be treated to sea chanteys by Bobbie Nikles starting at 6:30, and Graña, McVeigh and some of the student stars will discuss copepod studies after the film. "It’s going to be a full house of educators, sailors, naturalists and others who care about the ocean," says McVeigh. "This project was made of magic and was a big labor of love by many."

Find out more at racingwithcopepods.com.