March 25, 2014

On April 10-13 you can make that determination for yourself at Strictly Sail Pacific in Oakland. There you will meet Matt Rutherford and Nicole Trenholm, who will be putting themselves at risk to further data monitoring on ocean plastic levels and acidification.

When you think about it, would you drop everything in your life to warn others about the state of our environment? Where, besides the obvious financial burden, you are also putting your life at risk from chance encounters with rogue waves, slightly submerged debris from tsunamis, super storms or a host of other things that could kill you?

That is what these two brave souls are doing. But, why are they doing it? The first response is that if our oceans die, we die, end of story. The second is that we lack the depth of data to truly understand how plastic levels are currently affecting our oceans. Their goal is to advance our knowledge of the abundance of marine debris on the ocean's surface and the potential impacts to human and marine environmental health.

They will be surveying approximately 7,000 miles of ocean from San Francisco to Japan, and will be using a high speed trawl net to collect vital data. They will sample extensively outside of gyre systems to demonstrate the extent of this problem. Samples will be collected for persistent organic pollutants (POP) including PCBs and pesticides which will be analyzed by the University of Tokyo. A Baltimore laboratory will research the function of microbes amongst the plastics through DNA extraction. Post-expedition citizen scientists and students are invited to participate at hands-on lab analysis days and through the developing partnership projects with a Maryland Public School STEM Program and Baltimore Underground Science Space.

Some of what we do know:

Almost 90% of all floating materials in the ocean are plastic. Plastic is one of the most harmful pollutants because it does not readily break down in environments (Rudd, 2008).

About 250 billion pounds of plastic pellets are produced annually around the globe. Much of this plastic will end up in the oceans, with only 20% of plastic coming from ships or offshore platforms while the rest is either blown, washed or dumped into the oceans. Researchers found that in the middle of the North Pacific there are six pounds of plastic for every one pound of algae. Plastic pellets act as a magnet for toxic chemicals such as DDT and PCBs, creating poison pills for marine life. Marine debris, especially plastic, kills more than one million seabirds and 100,000 mammals and sea turtles every year (Leahy, 2004).

Matt is no stranger to taking chances, as he was the first person known to complete a non-stop singlehanded voyage around North and South America.

During the first leg of his trek, Rutherford broke a record by singlehanded sailing the smallest boat in history through the Northwest Passage. Once through this northern passage, he sailed down and around storm-tossed Cape Horn and completed his record breaking journey in 309 days after sailing 27,077 miles at sea.

Matt and Nicole will be sailing on a new Harbor 29, generously loaned to them by the boat's builder. The new Harbor 29 is a pure daysailer with a bigger cockpit than the successful Harbor 25. The large cockpit and semi-open transom with tiller will make Matt and Nicole's monitoring job easier with the extra room.

Matt and Nicole after 75 days at sea. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

The boat has been named Sakura, which means "Cherry Blossom" in Japanese. She is a fast boat with a Sail Area/Displacement ratio of 26, but she is anything but fragile. With a big spade rudder and bulb keel for stable tracking, 45% ballast to displacement ratio, self-tacking jib on a track and a host of sail controls, she will allow Matt and Nicole more time to focus on the important job at hand. She is fitted with a sink, a head with a pump, an ice chest, and a 15hp Yanmar saildrive.

We hear so often nowadays how “the sky is falling” – to the point that we become deaf and numb to the state of our environment. You might take a few minutes to think, "What If?" What if the claims about ocean acidification and plastic pollution are true? What if the data gained from expeditions like Matt and Nicole's shows a picture that does not look good for the continuation of humanity? What would you do? What could you do? These are questions we need to ask ourselves, because if this is where we are headed, we must find a solution to this problem or go the way of the dinosaur.

On April 14, Matt, Nicole, and Cherry Blossom will leave the docks of Strictly Sail Pacific, headed on their expedition to open our eyes on the actual state of one of our oceans in real time.

On April 14 in 1860, the first Pony Express rider arrived in San Francisco with mail originating 11 days earlier in St. Joseph, Missouri. Matt, Nicole, and Cherry Blossom's trip will be a bit longer, an estimated 65-70 days. They will have a tracking device onboard so that we can watch their progress daily on their website at www.oceanresearchproject.org. Also on their home page will be a weekly blog with information and tales from their journey. They expect to start the blog a week or so before they leave. You are cordially invited to join the flotilla on April 14 which will be escorting Matt, Nicole, and Cherry Blossom through San Francisco Bay and out into the Pacific.

You can meet Matt and Nicole in person at the boat show at Jack London Square on April 10-13, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. On April 11 starting at 6:00 p.m., you're invited to Cherry Blossom's “Coming Out” Dock Party.

"We are excited to be back out to sea," say Matt and Nicole, "it's our home away from home." You'll be able to follow their adventure and add your thoughts and comments via Facebook and Twitter.

– Rick Klimovich, Inland Sailing Company
©2014 by Rick Klimovich & www.Inland-Sailing.com. All rights reserved.