Mega Expedition.
Around 30 vessels
will depart Honolulu
this week to gather
data on how much
plastic is floating
around in the
Pacific Ocean.
"WE SAW
GARBAGE THAT
WOULD SINK
OUR BOAT." This
is what Andrew
Bates is talking
about, The Great
Pacific Garbage
Patch. It's what he
and his crew
encountered during
the Transpac
Races ten days
ago from California
to Hawaii. His boat
Adrenaline ran into
trouble
"AS WE SAILED
THROUGH THE
GARBAGE PATCH,
I WAS HORRIFIED
AT THE AMOUNT
OF TRASH THAT
WE CAUGHT AND
IT DAMAGED OUR
BOAT." The goal
of the Mega
Expedition is to
collect more data in
three weeks' time
than what was
gathered in 40
years. It was the
idea of Ocean
Cleanup founder
Boyan Slat. A
funding campaign
raised more than
2-million dollars
which allowed the
Ocean Cleanup to
enter the testing
phase.
"WE CAME UP
WITH THIS
EARLIER THIS
YEAR, NOW
WE'RE ACTUALLY
DOING the
LARGEST
EXPEDITION IN
HISTORY SO,
JUST THE SPEED
OF US GETTING
THINGS DONE IS
TO BE VERY
EXCITED."
Standup "THE
FLEET WILL
COVER 1.4
MILLION SQUARE
MILES OF AREA
BETWEEN
HAWAII AND THE
US WEST COAST,
THEY'LL BE
CREATING THE
FIRST HIGH
RESOLUTION
MAP ODF THE
PLASTIC IN THE
PACIFIC."
"THEY ALL HAVE
SPECIFIC
LONGITUTE AND
LATTITUDES
AGAIN TO DO
THE MAPPING
PROCESS, TO
FOCUS ON THE
CONCENTRATION
S OF PLASTIC IN
THE OCEAN."
Joining in the Mega
Expedition is Maria
Weber who grew
up on boats. She
will be aboard the
SwiftSure Vessel.
"I REALLY THINK
IT'S OUR DEEP
KULEANA ALL OF
US TO CLAEN
THIS PLANET
FOR THE FUTURE
GENERATIOJNS
AND IN HONOR
OF OUR
ANCESTORS."
During hte
expedition,
vessesls will make
about 50 crossings
to conduct surveys
on the amount of
plastic they
encounter. The
crews will use
trawling nets to
sample small debris
The Ocean
Cleanup survey
app which will be
used on smart
phones to count
larger debris.
Most of the
vessels have
headed out to sea,
others will follow
this week. Twenty
boats are from the
transpac race who
will be headed back
to California, 15 are
local vessels. The
cleanup of the
Great Pacific
Garbage Patch is
scheduled to begin
by 2020.