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.

Tasmanian Boat Charters joins the cleanup effort

Pieter Van Der Woude from Tasmanian Boat Charters has kindly offered the services of his 60 foot Boat the Odalisque for the cleanup this year. The addition of the Odalisque will ensure we can clean the beaches very efficiently this year. The list of volunteers for the 2011 trip has grown to 17 the biggest contingent we have taken down.

Fundraiser Success

The Coastal Custodians fundraiser at the Brisbane Hotel was a fantastic evening with over 130 patrons turning out for the outstanding enertainment. Many Thanks to the Brisbane Hotel for hosting the vent and to all the bands for their generous donation of time, skill and sweat. Red Herring donated the stash of legropes that were give aways through the night. The proceeds from the evening will help pay for the food for the trip and hopefully cover some of the cost of chartering and extra boat so we can get some more volunteers around the coast. Look out for a bigger and better fundraiser next year. Thanks to all those who turned out on the night.