Skipper Nick Beck and partner Rebecca Sykes are on an odyssey of discovery to raise awareness of marine plastic pollution

The pair will be sailing the modern sailing pilot cutter Amelie Rose (above) around the English Channel stopping off to interview local experts and to gather a more complete picture of the cause and effects of the pollution. They also hope to gather information on the most effective solutions to the problem. They say: “Plastic pollution is reaching a crisis point. We can’t bear to stand by, idly waiting for “someone” to do something about it and so have decided that we will do what we can to find out more about the problem and to spread the word about what we can all do to help solve it. We’ve set aside our normal jobs to do this and we hope that people will join us to find out what we can achieve together.”

Waste plastic is in evidence all around the planet and in areas of the Pacific it has formed vast floating gyres. Sailors report seeing plastic bags every metre or two in some latitudes between the continents. UV makes it brittle and as it breaks down into ever smaller pieces it disperses wider and wider into the environment. Micro plastics – mostly tiny strands from clothing, are so prevalent that they can be found in sediments at the bottom of the ocean floor (See report CSNo3). They are now widely found in the food chain, from creatures as small as krill up to large cetaceans. The effect on seabird populations has been particularly devastating as species like the wandering albatross ingest pieces of plastic mistaking them for seafood. Unable to regurgitate them many are found having died prematurely with a stomach-full of plastic.    

Nick and Rebecca welcome visits and have also created a website cleanseasodyssey.org to further raise awareness of the issues.

Updated destinations will be found there

in early June the itinerary for Destinations & Dates Ashore was:

Bucklers Hard: 2nd – 3rd Jun
Poole Hbr Boat Show: 8th – 10th Jun
Plymouth: 15th – 17th Jun
Falmouth Classics: 22nd – 24th Jun
Isles of Scilly: 29th Jun – 8th Jul
Mousehole Sea Salt & Sail: 13th – 15th Jul
Douarnenez Temps Fete: 25th – 29th July
Fete des Vieux Greements – Paimpol: 10th – 12th Aug
St Peter Port: 17th – 19th Aug
Brighton: 24th – 26th Aug
Solent TBA: 31st Aug – 2nd Sep

AMELIE ROSE recreated Sailing Pilot Cutter
c/o The Harbourmaster
Bucklers Hard Yacht Harbour
Beaulieu, Hampshire
UK. SO42 7XB.

Tel: 0800 773 426
Email: info@cleanseasodyssey.org