Green Island Main south to Duckhole

After a gentle night of rolling on the waves and through our dreams we woke to some light clouds that burnt away as the sun rose over the beautiful south west.

The boats all convened at Green Island main to revisit the kelp and seaweed patch that has previously been the site of much slimy rope and plastics both macro and micro. Green Island didn't turn up any strange or unique items but of course small pieces of rope and plastic were picked up in the 100's and 1000s.

The final number collected was 4,291 which is less than other years but could be down to the fact that this beach has been regularly cleaned each year for some time. 

We then continued south around the rocks to Duck Hole. This was a beautiful walk and scramble along the edge of the island collecting all we could find along the way. The final count for this part of the coastline  was 2,186.  In 2018 we collected 38,100 from the same stretch of coastline.

Nye Bay then Mulcahy Bay

The west coast offered up a cooler, misty morning. It was not only atmospheric, it also made ideal conditions for a big day of scouring the beach for rubbish.

22 hardy souls were out beneath the bay’s big dunes with eyes peeled for rubbish of all kinds. There were big items – a blue plastic barrel that needed wheeling out – but much of the time was spent on hands and knees, sifting through sand that yielded much micro-plastic.

Some of the party added their footprints to those of Tassie devils, collecting debris to the far end of the beach and back. The whole team gladly returned to boats for a late lunch and then all boats travelled to Mulcahy Bay in beautiful afternoon light, scattering albatross and cormorants as we headed south.

Most of the clean-up crew devoted the arvo to creative activities: driftwood carving, basket-weaving, a music jam. Even with all that going on, some more rubbish was picked up from the south side of Alec Rivulet, and although a few unfortunate souls slipped into the drink, it’s been another successful and enjoyable day of the 2024 clean-up.

Daily Rubbish Total 8059

Toweterer Beach and Duckhole

 After a heavy steam around South Cape, overnight anchorage was split between the four boats and we hit Towterer Beach early. We woke to a heavy fog which lifted to reveal a spectacular day.

The Clean Up veterans noted a significant decrease in macro debris that could be associated with returning visits to this area. On the flip side, our energy has been focussed on an increased in micro plastics. 

The weather is looking pretty good for the rest of our trip. The crew is pumped for an epic week continuing our mission. We are grateful to all of our sponsors for their generosity and fuelling us for the trip ahead. Better sign off, its an epic sunset and the count must go on..!!!

Total Count for the day 17882

Departure Day

 And we're away!

All crew arrived at Southport and Dover around midday to finalise stuffing the boats to the seams with food, gear and high hopes for a smooth trip round the coast.  T'was not to be with some large lumps and chunks jostling us around, albatross, prions and giant petrel working the water.  Views to the mountains and coast were spectacular as we cruised past South Cape and Precipitous Bluff, and the Maatsuuyker Island group as the first markers in the sequence of our adventure. Nena and Velocity pulled in to New Harbour Bay for steak dinner and kip, with Rumours rumoured to be holed up in Spain Bay for the evening.  Celtic Rose is on passage, and now we're all off to blanket bay for a 4am start in the morning!  Woot!!!

Nena Departs

Rumors safety induction

Heading West

Provisioning and Fundraising

The week of departure started on Sunday afternoon with Ruth, Alby, Dayna, Stuey and Matt doing a 4 cart smash and grab (one for each boat) of dry stores which were stored in the shed at Mt Nelson ready for the trip south. 

On Monday Sam and Luoey at Gillespies loaded us with enough Ginger Beer to keep the sea sickness at bay for ages. Sam has been helping us out for over 15 years, since before he and joined us for a trip in the early days.

The costs of running the cleanup have increased substantially over the last 5 years and fundraising post covid has been much harder. The only way we can continue is with generous cash donations. A massive thanks to Rob Pennicott, Intuit Technologies and Seafood industry Tasmania who together have almost paid for all of our fuel

Dave from Deep South Brewing and Owen from Moo Brew have pitched in with some cases for the crew. Dave has been instrumental in the development of many of the beers produced by both breweries and most of his beers at Deep South are named after places we visited when he joined us on the cleanup a few years back.

Tomorrow morning the teams will drop by and see Omiros and the Hill Street in West Hobart for all of the fresh fruit and vegetables. Omiros and the team divide and pack the provisions in boxes for each boat. Often working through the night to have it ready first thing on the departure morning. The next stop for members of each boat is the Wursthaus Kitchen in Salamanca Place to collect a selection of amazing delicatessen delights before they make their way south for a departure from Dover and Southport around Midday.

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Cleanup 2024 is a go - Please support us now

Team Clean will once again be braving the wilds of Southwestern Tasmania collecting, documenting and repatriating marine debris from the isolated beaches of the TWWHA.  Its 25 years since the first cleanup,  and this year we should pass 800,000 items beachcombed by a bunch of volunteers supported by a team of generous commercial fishermen.

Pease support us this year on our Pozible Campaign  which helps us pay for fuel and food.