Another Plastic Bag Car Launch

Fascinating to me is how unconscionable some people are about throwing trash out their car window. Second time in a week I had to stop and wait for traffic to pass so I could pick up the abandoned bag that was launched out of a car window This one ended up being blown into an area on Kerr Ave where many other unwanted one-time use items have landed. Until we put a value on this one-time use trash, people are going to continue to launch it anyway, anywhere, anyhow. What is tragic is often times there is still some food substances on these items and little critters go out in the road to check it out and then BAM.

So if you know of anyone that is a trash launcher can you asked them not to do it? Even food that will biodegrade is a problem for animals looking for a bite to eat. It could be their last.

Bags under my eyes

Lately, there have been a lot of plastic bags crossing my patch. Last week, I was talking to my son on the phone when I saw one launched out a car window. It went straight up in the air like a hot air balloon, then floated down only to dodge traffic. Even though I was enjoying my conversation with my son who is off to grad school, I had to hang up. He wanted to know what was the matter and laughed when I told him it was because of a plastic bag let loose on the street, right near a storm drain. His laughing doesn't bother me because I know, deep down, he appreciates my willingness to stop on my bike to go pick it up.

In 2007, we used 60,000 plastic bags every 5 seconds in the US alone. That's 720,000 every minute. There ya go, now I know why they've been floating around on the streets. OMG, imagine how much more it might be today if people didn't start bringing their own to the store. Awesome people!

Plastic Trashed Yearling Sea Lion

(Kamilo Bay Hawaii -Photo by Ron Sanford) Over the past year I've been compelled to educate people about the issues of plastic pollution in the ocean or anywhere for that matter. That urge has not subsided since I returned from the Big Island of Oaho Hawaii. What I witnessed there should never happen. The beach does not have sand, it has plastic confetti. I fear without any relief from our one time use plastics nor a reduced amount of plastic litter on our roadsides, we will have to get used to plastic integrating into our sand and soil. And as humans many of us can probably deal with it okay. But its the ones that don't use plastic that are most inflicted by it.

When I returned from the North Pacific Garbage Patch, I had one more item on my wish list. I wanted to go to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center to talk to them about the impact of plastics on marine animals. No one had to say a word, what I saw spoke volumes. I witnessed a rescued yearling sea lion that nearly died because it had just one strand of fishing line around its neck. One line cut into this sea lion's neck a few inches laying open the skin all the way around her neck. Nothing should have to suffer this way. Nothing. Fortunately for her there are programs out there that try to protect as well as rehabilitate unfortunate animals like this one. The kick is she was swimming where she belongs amongst such things that do not belong. These plastics, like fishing line, don't degrade fast enough and are so durable it takes years for it to weaken enough to break, by then animals entangled have expired. If you would like to learn more about "Segway" and the wonderful people that helped her check out http://www.pacificmmc.org/patients.php and tell them thanks for me.

What do plastics and cockroaches have in common?

When I was in college my entomology professor said, “If bugs are your friends, you will never be alone.” That has gotten me through many a bug infestation, and I’m seeing something similar with trash. No matter where I go, trash and litter seem to be right there with me.

I went to the grocery store yesterday with Quinn, my four year old son. I carried him across the parking lot, and when we almost into the store he said “Mommy! Litter!”

Litter is so prevalent that I have to prioritize which pieces of litter I pick up so I don’t die or cause accidents. Plastics are a top priority to pick up. Paper products are lower on the list. Litter in a busy parking lot is further down on the list because the safety of my small children has to come first.

Quinn had spotted a paper bag that had been decorated to look like a pumpkin, and it was pretty far away. I told him we'd get it on the way back because we’d pass right back by it, and it really looked as if someone might have forgotten it. He said, and I kid you not, "If Ms. Bonnie were here, she would pick it up."

I guess I’ve taught him well.

We turned around, walked back across the parking lot, and picked up the paper bag, which was crudely painted to look like a pumpkin and had a paper leaf attached.

We finished our shopping and where checking out when the cashier offered Quinn a cookie. I told her we were in the store about 4 seconds before he hit the cookie bin so he was all set. Then she asked another cashier to get a balloon for him – she was really going out of her way to be nice to us - but I had to tell her that I don't take balloons. She looked a little off, and said, "Oh, sorry." I told her I really appreciated the thought, but I have seen and plucked too many balloons and balloon strings from the ocean. She looked surprised, and said how she tries to be green and she'd never thought of that before. She’d never seen the impacts of her very sweet and completely well intentioned offerings of balloons. But they are a real problem; I’ve seen them washing in here in North Carolina and in Bermuda. We saw balloon parts in the North Atlantic Gyre, and Bonnie saw the balloons that were found in the stomach of a sea lion. It’s no trivial matter, these balloons.

When we’d finished checking out, I had to explain the paper bag pumpkin that was in the cart. We have recycled the paper bag and the newspaper stuffed inside.

Trash is everywhere. Sometimes, it can turn into a meaningful experience for everyone involved.

If trash is your game, you never have to look to far to make a difference.

The Warm Welcome Home

Thank you Algalita and friends for the warm welcome home. Marieta Francis and Jeanne Gallagher - you two were a sight for sore eyes. Along with many others including Jeff's parents, Kent and Kathy Ernst. The last few miles in, I sat on the bow ready to video any sea lions or dolphins sightings so I could send a picture back to Vicki Rivenbark's class at Holly Tree School back in Wilmington, NC. The only thing we saw as we neared Alamitos Bay was plastic trash making its way out to sea as we headed in. Things like Styrofoam containers, chip bags, bottles, and even a soccerball accompanied by a bottle. But the most disturbing was actually witnessing a seagull pecking at a floating plastic bag. "It looked like we were back in the gyre." Lindsey turned to me and said, "This is where it all starts."



Thank goodness the Algalita supporters where out there to distract us. It was all too overwhelming to see so much trash in its origin - land. It played out like a scene in "The Twilight Zone." I, personally, felt like our trip out into the gyre was some kind of victory, only to return to business as usual. The jaded twist to the end of our journey.



It's going to take a lot more people, like Marieta, willing to lend a hand not letting plastic pollution go out to sea. I do have a better ending to our last night together though. We left Avalon early Tuesday morning after a dinner the night before at the The Lobster Pot. The waiter asked us where we would like to sit and Lindsey, spying a table for six elevated by a handful of steps into the back of a sawed off boat, said "How about there?" We all looked at the stern nestled up against the wall, shrugged, and climbed the stairs. Why not, what was one more meal elbow to elbow enclosed by the sides of a boat.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Day 29 Monday 10/5/09

Noon Coordinates 32 47.708N 118 18.320WWhen I woke for my last morning alone on the ORV Alguita, it was anything but. Gwen, who does the watch before me, decided to stay up with me due to the problems Lindsey and Jeff were having with the auto pilot. The wind kicked up to over 40 knots causing the auto pilot to fail. The only way to handle the situation was to change course, and if need be steer. There was no beating into the winds. It would also require a sail change from the genoa jib to the staysail, but the captain didn’t want to risk someone getting hurt or blown overboard by the assaulting winds so we traveled off course at 10 knots per hour getting nowhere fast. Bill, who comes on after my shift, was also up due to the outlandish banging under the ship. Few could sleep.

Gwen, who takes good care of this blogger, often times let me sleep in an extra 15 minutes. Today it was an hour. I didn’t change my watch when we sailed into the Pacific Daylight Saving Times yesterday so when I looked at my watch at 0345, I figured I was ahead of the game. It was actually 0445. Not letting on that I was late, nor did she try to wake me, Gwen had just started the tea pot on the stove for me.

Yesterday I was running late too, only that time it was because I was making my way out of the top bunk, a wave came and literally threw me. I fell out of my bunk 4” down landing on the top of my left toes (don’t ask). To add insult to injury I slammed into the side of Gwen’s bed, trashing my leg all in one full swoop. It took a minute for me to rub out the sting. The captain, who has something for everything, came out of his state room with some all natural salve that eases out bruises. It worked on my leg, but the middle toe on my left foot is perhaps broken. Ugg.

We rolled into Avalon, Catalina Island, with a circus show of several sea birds and sea lions. (they swam beside our boat as if so happy to see us!) 3,460 nautical miles later!!!

We walked around the island like drunken sailors though not having a drink. It’s called dock rock. Once on a boat for any length of time and then off, one feels the world rock when while off the boat! We met Faith in the restaurant we had dinner at tonight, a six year old Girl Scout who her and her older sister had accolades for the captain’s work on protecting the oceans. Great to meet both of you!!!

We’re rocking on the island and look forward to seeing everyone at the Algalita Headquarters tomorrow afternoon! Thank you Gwen, Cooper, Lindsey, Jeffy Pop and especially Captain Moore for an experience of a lifetime, but more importantly, allowing me to see the unseen, plastics accumulating in our defenseless ocean.

Hopefully I’ll see many of you tomorrow! Bonnie

Monday, October 5, 2009

Day 28

Noon Coordinates 30 00869N 121 39.199W

Day 28 Sunday 10/04/09
We are winding down to our last 48 hours on the ship. The air is too cold to sit outside for more than a couple of minutes especially since the sun hasn’t shown its face for more than a few minutes each day. Strange to think a week ago we were melting from the heat. Lindsey went for a walk around the ship and was back in less than a minute. Stiff legged and arms out like a scarecrow she was soaked from head to toe. That didn’t stop the captain who put on his swim shorts and headed to the bow to take on the ocean spray head on. The water is a refreshing 65 a shade warmer than the air.

We have been pinched between the Tropical Storm Olaf (sp) below us and Gale winds above us. The sky wants to rid itself of the stainless steal clouds, but it is a losing battle for most of the day. Tonight they loosened up enough to give us our last sunset. Tomorrow night we will be in Avalon, Santa Catalina Island which will block the view of our final sunset set at sea.

The wind is up and the seas are down to a four, perfect conditions to be traveling an average of nine knots without the restless baseball bats banging below. When I say the wind is up, I’m talking straight up. According to the captain these winds are going to take us all the way in.

By dawn we will be traveling right past Cortes Bank which is about 100 miles off the California shore. This exclusive location has attracted the attention of surfers from around the world. It is said that Cortes Bank has the potential of making 150 foot waves due to a deep canyon that has one wall that stretches to just six feet below the surface creating a reef effect for the waves to curl on. It doesn’t happen all the time, but given the perfect conditions, the surf is up like no other in the world. Surfline’s Sean Collins, crew and surfers waited 10 years for the conditions to be perfect for them to go out and surf there. On 11/26/02, the conditions were ripe and they arrived to find 60 foot waves. Because the captain had the video “Making the Call” from the event, we were able to see it with our own eyes. Unbelievable! Chances are, we won’t see this phenomenon, but from what the captain says, it is a great place to fish for tuna. I’ll keep you posted if either materializes!

Remember to keep Tuesday afternoon open to stop down the Algalita headquarters to view our North Pacific Gyre loot! (email vesselsupport@algalita.org to find out the details)

More later,

Bonnie