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The crew awoke on the last day of the trip under leaden skies but at least we didn't have to pick up anymore of someone else's rubbish. The Velocity and Odalisque rafted up and transferred all the Marine Debris onto the Odalisque for a quick trip up to Prince of Wales Bay in Hobart were the rubbish was to be unloaded. The Velocity headed for a quick last surf with Johnny before he headed back to warmer climes while the Miss Carmen docked in Dover to unload its crew before heading back to sea to continue fishing. The Chieftain G dropped its crew on the Odalisque and headed for a few days cruising the Channel.

In Hobart Alderman Bill Harvey turned up to check out our haul and collected a representative sample which we hope to display in the coming weeks. The total items collected on the trip was 18357 items, the biggest haul yet. It is a testament to hard work of the volunteer crew and skill of the fishermen who enabled us to access the beaches in difficult conditions. A detailed description of the items collected will be posted soon.

Wednesday 20th

The day dawned at Louisa Bay. A couple of veterans got up to check the sky. Someone said we should get to Surprise Bay. After a couple of hot egg and bacon muffins the skipper shouted "anchor man, get up and do your job". So we weighed anchor towards South Cape. Surprise Bay unfortunatley held no surprises. The surf was not on. So we steamed around the South Cape towards the Rivulet. We anchored in the middle of the bay. A few of us thought we would jump in the icy water for a wash and surf. The surf was still not on, the rip was horrendous and the waves were 3-4 foot puss. A couple of the stalwarts stayed on the boat admiring the scenery. Dave 'the wave' Wyatt, came back in a flash and said "let's get on the road" Recherche Bay needs us. We steamed past Lion Rock, but the lion was roaring far too big and angry, so we steamed around South East Cape and into Recherche Bay. Three shore parties went into clean Lookout Point, with minimal marine debris found. So we started on the sip, and then a barbie started to roar, and the girls strapped up some delicious tucker, while Steve seared the sirlions. The night presses on, the boys are playing instruments on the Velocity, farewelling the evening and celebrating the last night of the cleanup.

Tuesday Blog

Tuesday 19th

Morning refreshingly quiet after Monday's rain with a cool wind and an overcast sky but weather mild and fine. Our next destination was decided, Louisa Bay. Shy albatross, crested terns and fairy prion's kept Odalisque company on the water. The southern ranges to the north – Cox's Bluff and Red Pt dominant – and the sun striking Maatsuyker Island made this short passage visually stunning. The cleanup crews were dispatched starting with west Louisa Bay beach – usual rope, cans, plastic debris were found. Unusual items included a 20 ltr drum of used engine oil and a complete wet suit without a diver! Louisa Bay was quite clean after New Harbour with its 600 beer cans. Hunters and gatherers returned with abalone, crayfish and sea urchin. We had happy hour's on all boats with the main meal - to be Asian based - on the good ship Odalisque . No doubt reviews of today and plans for tomorrow will be discussed.

Monday's Blog

The crew awoke to a red and grey haze at Port Davey. A brooding North-West wind was felt. The crew was anxious with thoughts of crossing SW Cape to the southern shore of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The Velocity left early in its sojourn across the gauntlet of SW Cape. Three to four meters of rising swell was in its wake, with an extra two meters of windy seas on top of a daunting ocean. The salty sea-dogs were hardened to such escapades but the 12 land-cats were not. The Velocity made its way towards Waterfall Bay where a boatfull of surfers dived into icy cold water for a two hour session of surfing - an absolute treat. Quite different for the Miss Carmen, towing a 1-tonne cray dinghy, whose journey around around the Cape was one of sideways scare tactics. Thoughts of calmer waters were on the crew's mind. The four boats eventually arrived. The cleanup was one of beercans, over 600 of them. A blisterly NW wind made life chilly with sand in eyes a constant hindrance. As we digest a lovely roast and vegies sipping Gillespies Giner Beer...we think of what's coming next.

Sunday Blog

A wapping 10,274 items of rubbish collected - that's a lot of bending down! Waking up to white-water and pulling pots close to the rocky coast was challenging. Hats off to Deano who recovered all, with plenty of crayfish. Missed cleaning the beaches :{ amazed by the effort the other guys put in. Who would be anywhere else? Seven hours on the beach in two split teams, saw Matty and I trying to convince each other, via two-way radio, that we had more rubbish than either team... the on board evening sort showed that we were probably both right... WHAT A HAUL! Looking at the back of the boat carrying the rubbish tonight, the view resembles something similar to a whole seven days effort from previous trips... everyone has fingers crossed for a rest day????!!!... to be continued...

saturday blog

After a starry moonlit night the crew started the day under thick clouds with a quick surf and brisk walk the length of Button Bay Beach. The full team had the beach clean before 4 o'clock except for a massive 300+ kilo rope. We unravelled a third of the rope and used it to tow the rest through the breakers in the Zodiac. We totalled 2361 pieces of rubbish for the day. Best item found by the crew was a cold full can of beer. Marcos unleashed his Brazilian black beans and Emma her chilli con carne on the crew at was a great way to end a long strenuous day.

Fridays Blog

Today the south-easterly weather receded and the sunshine poked through the clouds as the SW marine debris flotilla made its way around the spectacular southern Tasmanian coastline.

The Odalisque crew cruised past South West Cape and were treated to sightings of schools of common dolphins as well as a couple of albatross hotspots. Meanwhile the Velocity crew started beachcombing around 10am after steaming all night.

After a good feed the boats rendezvoused at the Giblin, most for the first time. After a brief run-down on the craft of rubbish-collecting from Matt, team Marine Debris were digging out a 3m2 nest of tangled rope and after half an hour of frenzied digging and straining, the triumphant team hauled the 400kg coloured spaghetti mass to the water's edge where it was transferred to the Odalisque by zodiac.

The rest of the afternoon was punctuated by another mammoth dig and slow wandering along the sunny beach collecting more plastic and ropey treasures. The beach was clean with the removal of only 1881 items, less than half of last years total.

Loading Up

Thursday morning has dawned and the wind has dropped a bit. Sill looks a bit to lumpy to load the Velocity at Southport so we will move the boat to Dover for load up. The Odalisque will depart from Prince of Wales Bay around 11 with a crew of 8. The Chieftan is departing from Margate at around 11. The Miss Carmen is waiting to load up at Dover. bWe will hang and wait for slop to ease before we head around the coast later this evening.

Provisioning

Well we had a hectic couple of days getting the supplies together. Spikey and I helped out Sam with some bottling down at Gillespies at Bream Creak. Sam Generously donated 20 Cases of Ginger Beer to the trip.
Then it was off to the Wurtshaus wholesale shop out in Cambridge to pick up $1000 worth of gourmet meats and prepared meals.
Next stop was the supermarket for some serious shopping. With Help from Spikey, Madeline and Anais we managed to fill 5 trolleys to the brim. Hopefully we didnt forget anything.

Last stop was The Hill Street Grocer for some nice fresh fruit and veges. They looked after us with a good discount. All set now we just have to fit it all on the boats.

We depart in 3 Days

Its three days until departure and the crew is getting ready for a dash to the West Coast of Tasmania. The weather looks favorable for a quick cleanup of the West Coast from Friday to Monday before the weather will force us to either shelter in Port Davey or head along the South Coast of Tasmania.