The Lucky Dollar Bill (and our visit to Edgartown)

Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean has arrived in Martha's Vineyard!  After a beautiful three day sail from Kittery Point, Maine, we received a warm welcome as we pulled up to dock at Edgartown Yacht Club on Thursday afternoon.  The beauty and charm of this town, as well as the graciousness of our hosts, made it easy to settle in and feel right at home.

After a much needed night of rest, we wasted no time in spreading the joys of marine debris removal and disposal as we began our stay with a public showing of our ROV at Memorial Wharf.  Hundreds of people passed by the area, checking out our underwater robot along the way.  There wasn't a whole lot of trash (which was a great thing to see!), but we did manage to pull out some BIG items!  After retrieving two tires, a few bottles, and some fishing materials (including a fishing rod), we made our way back to American Promise to wrap up the day with a few hours of boat tours and more ROV fun.

Much of Saturday was spent in the company of the amiable and generous David Murphy and family/friends.  A relaxing morning of swimming put us in a great mood for a day of debris removal.  We joined them for a delicious lunch and a good old Neuston tow.  We found several pieces of microplastic, tons of phytoplankton, a few crabs, lobsters, and needle fish (which we threw back into the ocean), but our most exciting find was definitely the $1 bill we pulled out!  Finding money in the ocean is a first for the Rozalia Project and this dollar has been dubbed our Lucky Dollar Bill and will be forever cherished.  After returning to American Promise, we donned our prettiest dresses and finest suits and made our way back over to the Murphy's home, where they hosted a beautiful party.  It was thrilling to meet so many interesting people who shared our love for the ocean and were so enthusiastic about our mission.

The last few days of our stay consisted of more ROV, boat tour, and education programs, including a fun session with EYC Juniors and Lunch With a View, as well as shopping in the charming shops found throughout the town.  We also had another chance to hang out with the Murphy family during a beach clean-up at the Gut at Cape Pogue.  After such a memorable and rewarding experience here in Edgartown we are sorry to go, but we are excited to make our way on to Providence where we are looking forward to three days of cleaning the ocean!  Check back in with us in a few days to hear about our adventures in Rhode Island!