Team Clean on the telly!

Yeowwww! Check out the ace story that 7 News ran on the cleanup last night 💛

Day 10

The teams awoke to crystal clear skies in the northern part of Recherche Bay close to where the French D'Entrecasteaux expedition that had named many of  the areas features in had anchored over 200 years before.  We readied ourselves to reintegrate back in to society after an unforgettable 10 days in perhaps the most picturesque and user friendly wilderness zone on the planet. We journeyed back to Southport to clean up the boats, talk to the media and repatriate the marine debris with the land. 

This trip we have managed to collect and document 95511 individual items, the second most items collected in the clean-ups 21 year history. A massive thanks to the boat skippers Bucky, Jesse, Harry and Dave for guiding us safely through the wild west coast, and also to the 15 Volunteers who worked tirelessly cleaning the beaches and counting the days spoils. To our many sponsors and donors, thanks so much for the ongoing support.

We will populate the blog with high resolution photos in the coming days.  

Day 9

The team woke refreshed after a early night at the aptly named Beercan Bay. Masaaki motivated the troupes with some  stunning crayfish muffins for breakfast. This beautiful sheltered harbour is bounded by very steep lush green peaks and the white sand beach is cut by the rich red tannin stained water flowing out of a wide creek. The beach was the cleanest we had seen in years and we retrieved a measly 706 items, the majority of which was beer cans and small pieces of can. Many thanks to the bushwalkers who had gathered most of this rubbish and bagged it up next to the campsite.

The highlight of the trip for many other than last nights spectacular aurora was the discovery of a perfect paper Nautilus Shell by the youngest member of the team Gabby. This is the sort of Marine Debris we love to find.

We headed towards home via a scenic coastal route past the white sea cliffs of Cox's Bluff, Prion Beach, Precipitous Bluff and the towering dolerite cliffs of South Cape. The Nena headed for Dover to get their team back in time for work on Monday, while the other three boats met up on Sunset at the Pigsties at Recherche Bay for a last night shindig.

Day 8

Southwest cleanup 21 March 2021

Today we worked Noyhener beach. The recipient of the highest wave energy of any beach in Australia. Wide and white, backed by impressive hammocky dunes topped with green scrubby toupees. We spread out and scoured the beach. Some concentrated early on a patch of micro plastics gathered above the tanin stained creek that meanders along behind the apex of the beach, keeping the toes of the dunes wet. Others zigzagged across the gently sloping expanse of crusted sand littered with rounded quartzite pebbles, momentarily distracted by pieces of a ship long wrecked, aged by its hand hammered copper nails. Drift wood was plentiful. Some forged ahead to gather the larger items. A huge clump of thick rope at the far end of the beach took some digging to free. As always micro plastics abounded.

 

As the day's collecting wound up frothers went in for a late arvo surf, others wandered the rock pools or relaxed, taking in the picturesque scene. Some much needed r & r for the hard working team of vollies, a chance to stretch our well worked backs and thighs after days of sand walking, stooping, crouching, dragging and digging. A large Cray, snaffled at the start of the day from a deep rock pool, was sushimied and scoffed in situ.

We rafted up and ate before the count. The team was rewarded shortly after sunset with the fabled Aurora Australis. Many commenting, with broad smiles, that it was the first they'd seen.

7,649, the total count.

P.S. Sorry Lucy, Will won't be home on Sunday

Day 7

Friday 19 March 2021
Green Island Main and the Duck Hole
By SP & JG

We wake to a very heavy sea mist with the boats split up, anchored between the Towterer and Green Island anchorages. Visibility was less than 50 metres and the boats at Towterer beach were rolling heavily in the 3 metre SW swell.
 
We were eager to get on land at Green Island Main to make a start on what is always an epic day of rubbish collection. As the mist cleared we made it to shore; heads down and bags filling quickly. After three hours, we moved over to the Duck Hole, taking the 2-km rock scramble by foot. The 'Duckhole' yielded its usual assortment of ropes, bottle-caps and plastic. The old-timers commented rubbish was down until we hit a pit of micro-plastics.

 
After 7 hours on the beach, with a building SW swell and southerly sea breeze developing, we step into a highly organised sea ballet (dinghy pick-up and boat-transfers) featuring our stellar skippers Dave the Wave, Bucky, Hazza and Jesse. The crew disperse to surfing and coastal adventures on the way back to the safety and comfort of Spain Bay, where Masaaki prepares tuna sashimi plates as the count begins.
 
Count total:
Green Is Main: 13,457
The Duck Hole: 10,213
 
Another day done. We will sleep well tonight!

Day 6

The day started early with the boats departing Nye Bay before sunrise. After a glassy steam south the team assembled at Towterer Beach.
We were greeted to a playful 2-3ft beach break, stoke levels high, the crowd was soon spread over the beach. Making the most of the early morning; warm calm conditions - very rare in these parts.
We shuttled in to the southern end of Towterer, starting the day with a set of goals to ensure we weren't deterred by the size of the beach and plastics strewn through the dunes and tide lines.
In total we picked up debris for 7 hours but in reality we had 18 people immersed in a 50 metre section of micro plastics. The scale is difficult to describe. 18 people sitting in situ collecting pieces mostly ranging from 2.5mm to 10mm. This is the scale of rubbish that gets overlooked by most rubbish collectors. Once seen and noted, never forgotten! Nurdles were thick and numerous. Veteran marine debris collector Ula commented she'd never seen so many nurdles. If we didn't know what a nurdle was before today, now we do!
An intense section of beach also yielded many larger items, buoys, fish bins, a mass of ropes that took a combined effort to excavate, squid bulbs, fenders, large pieces of fishing nets, and a tangled mass of cargo strapping.
Highest days count for our trip so far with 26,641 found and foraged. Even though it was our highest count so far, sadly there are many more micro plastics that will be there to greet us next time.

Day 5

It was an early morning start for the clean up convoy, steaming north from Spain Bay in the pre-dawn. The swell had backed off and cruising was considerably more comfortable than the previous day. Plenty of albatross, dolphins and seals followed us up the wild west coast but alas, no tuna.

The surfers had a quick wave on the way up, and the fishers had some success with a couple of Stripey, and for Gabbie, a cod. Jesse got in the water and picked up some abalone and a couple of crays.

The crew landed at Nye Bay and were initially surprised at what appeared to be a relatively clean stretch of sand. But microplastics lurk in the sand blows and mangroves. And under that, plenty of big and nasty junk - buoys, bait savers, nets and bottles. And ROPE. So much rope. It was sad to see the trees that line parts of the Giblin River choked with fragments of nylon rope. The place was looking much better by the time we'd finished, though, and the crew returned to the boats in the late afternoon exhausted but very satisfied with a job well done. At the end of the day, it came to 11,602 pieces of plastic removed from beautiful Nye Bay. Until next time!

Day 4

We started the morning in Bond Bay with ideal surfing conditions - two rocky point breaks and 3-4ft waves off Earls point. Some long rides were enjoyed and a pod of dolphins spotted. After everyone was surfed out with rumbling stomachs from a few good hours in the water, the crew motored through 5-6 metres of south west swell to Spain Bay. We then hit the shore and made the muddy trek to Stephens Bay under some long awaited blue sky. We were greeted with a spectacular coastal and mountainous ocean swell. 

We were met at the end of the track with a pile of debris previously collected by none other than our own Dave Wyatt and left for us to find. In comparison to the previous year we found more micro plastics and less large debris. After the long walk combing the beach for plastic specs we were rewarded with spectacular, thousands of years old, middens left by the original custodians of the land.

We had been warned of a large mass of plastic on the beach that did not fail to disappoint. We discovered a couple of square metres worth of melted plastic bags and squid jigs covered with Korean writing and pictures of fish. Despite our efforts we were unsuccessful in excavating the whole thing, but managed to cut away some chunks which were dragged along the beach on a hessian bag by Alex and Will, ready to be collected on the way home. There's been many suggestions about how we might get the mass off the beach in calmer conditions.

 

We hauled our debris back to Spain Bay where we were met by intrepid kayakers Lin and Tim who had battled the 6 metre swell all the way from New Harbour into Spain Bay. We returned to the boats to refuel and commenced the count. Our final number was 7255 pieces of macro and micro debris for the day.

Day 3

A slow rainy morning with lots of boats sheltering from the south westerly in kings... quite a few of us went for a quick splash off the boat in the cold black water to shake the dust off.. a small group shuttled to Claytons hut, and walked up the ridge to the amazing lookout over this part of Port Davey. We used our underwater salvage skills (diving, multiple grapnel hooks, the echo sounder, etc. ) To retrieve the chairs that blew overboard in a dingy transfer..
We spent the afternoon picking up debris in bond bay - at the mouth of James Kelly basin. Fortunately it was a great experience as we admired more shells than we found rubbish, with a total of 29 pieces from both sides of the basin..
One especially ornate glass bottle will not make it to recycling, as it was a historic beverage bottle that will spend its new life as a vase.

Day 2

Starting off the day at Spain bay, we made the short crossing to Bramble Cove. After a hearty breakfast we headed for the beach. We were dropped ashore to a short stretch of pebbly beach nestled amongst the rugged quartzite shoreline. We soon discovered that the high tide line was a tangle of seaweed and micro plastics; we all found a pebbly seat and nestled in for a few hours of seaweed sifting and great conversation.

Yesterday's 1500 m of sandy beach yielded 6,963 pieces of debris. Today's effort of 10,565 pieces was recovered from just 20 m of pebble and tortured drift wood beach.

As the wind looked like it was making, we made our way around the rocks to find a safe pickup spot for the dinghies. After a quick afternoon refuel and a change of clothes, we steamed up the channel into the picturesque Bathurst Harbour to seek shelter.

We rafted up and got into the count. With seasoned veterans and enthusiastic newbies working together, we sorted the day's haul of marine debris in no time!! Sharing a delicious meal of fresh flake, chips and salad, the 2021 cleanup is well and truly under way!

Day 1

We woke to lapping water in Bramble Cove after a glorious run into Port Davey the evening before. The pre-frontal rain early, in the morning, kept us close to our cabins drinking tea and listening to weather forecasts. Velocity headed off early into Melaleuca Inlet to unload building materials for Parks and Wildlife. All four boats regrouped and headed for Spain bay around lunch time, a sheltered beach to begin beach combing. Time for the new kids to get their feet wet, get their eye in and learn the difference between a noodle and a nerdle. Time to focus on the micro minutiae of plastic.

Eighteen volunteers, nine first timers, scoured the bay from the southwest corner to the northeast end. All types of marine debris were collected with a high percentage of plastic bottle tops and small rope pieces. Micro plastics littered the high tide line, especially around the creeks. Veteran volunteers expected the count to be much higher around the creek and historically higher volume areas but were pleasantly surprised to find less debris.

Hours of bobbing, kneeling, scrounging and sifting leads to achy thighs, keen eyes and heavy hearts.

As we shuttled back to our respective boats a little rain squall arrived but otherwise the arvo had been pretty dry. We had a quick refuel on board our home boats and then off to Velocity for "the count". Newbies debate whether it's the dreaded count, the highly anticipated count or the most important aspect of our work. The count took place on Velocity's deck amidst a flurry of frenzied activity. Much to learn for the newbies. Veterans commented on the rise in micros and the decrease in larger pieces on this beach. As we finished the sun broke through the grey clouds and parts of the remote and rugged land glowed golden. A quick break for dinner and the final micro count on Rumours brought the grand total for the day up to 6,963!

Departure Day

What a 24 hours for the crews. We had to leave a day early to beat a strong wet cold front so the 21 strong team have packed two days into one. As we speak Jesse on the Cape Forestier, Harry on the Nena and Bucky on the Rumours are a few hours ahead of us heading along the South Coast. Team Velocity is just passing Recherche Bay with an ETA at Port Davey of about 10 pm.

The coast is glorious today very light winds and a swell of less than a metre. A massive thanks to all our sponsors and supporters without whom this long running expedition would not be possible. We are absolutely pumped for some stunning scenery and glorious days beachcombing on the wild west coast beaches next week.

Logistics

Today was a very busy day for Team Clean.  Ula put the finishing touches on the Pozible Campaign and managed to rustle up nearly $9500 to put towards this years adventure.  Meanwhile Dave and Matt loaded up the generously donated Gillespies Ginger Beer, then managed to extricate the old outboard off the old dingy, pick up the new dingy and bolt the outboard to it.  SP was out working with Mona's 24 Carrot Garden program and picked up some essential supplies from out good friends at Moo Brew. Stefan and Jasper made the late run into town and helped Omiros and the crew at Hill Street Grocer in South Hobart pack the food for the 4 boats. Meanwhile Jesse took a very leisurely cruise on the Cape Forestier down the Channel in preparation for and early departure tomorrow. And that's just the interesting bits :)

Team Clean is setting sail

Team Clean is heading back into the wild waters of South Western Tasmania to remove the detritus of society that litters the beaches of this magnificent coastline.

We have 4 boats and a team of keen adventurers ready for the challenge.  The weather is looking interesting and it looks like we will have to make a run along the coast before a nasty little front whips up the seas. Stay in touch for more updates over the coming weeks.