Team Marine attended an event at the California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey, CA on this Wednesday, October 10 following docking of the Riding Currents craft along its ocean journey. Riding Currents is a project started by Billy Dutton to raise awareness about plastic pollution and alternative energy. They have outfitted a 22-foot duffy boat with solar panels and lithium-ion batteries, sailing from Santa Barbara, CA to Ensenada, Mexico, more than 350 miles. They will make the entire journey emissions-free, and along the way, they will collect water samples and drag a trawl behind the boat to collect plastic debris.
Marcus Eriksen, founder of the organization 5gyres, gave a riveting presentation at the event on his travels around the world by boat, finding the high density of plastic pollution in all 5 major oceanic gyres and other patches throughout the seas.
Several members of Team Marine attended the event and our own Matilda Mead spoke about efforts to reduce the use of single-use plastics, while wearing a costume made of plastic cutlery that found its way to the Santa Monica beach.
Finally, we toured the Riding Currents boat and Billy showed us the impressive arrangement of batteries below the seat cushions and the tiny, but powerful, electric motor that has carried them thousands of miles down the California coast.
By Matthew Ware
