A Rozalia Project Rhode Trip!

On Wednesday July 11, Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean departed Edgartown, MA to begin our “Rhode” trip of the sea. 

First stop: Providence, RI

            We pulled away from Edgartown Yacht Club as the sun was rising to begin a potential day and a half sail to Providence, but the ocean must have been just as excited as we were to get there.  With great wind and a favorable current the entire trip, we made it to Providence Community Boating Center (PCBC) by 7pm that same day.  The staff greeted us enthusiastically as we docked American Promise and settled in for our 3-day visit.  We kicked off our stay Thursday morning introducing students from a local STEM education program to the top 10 trash items found in the ocean, giving boat tours, and using the ROV to go trash hunting.   In the afternoon, we had more fun learning about and picking up marine debris with young sailors from PCBC’s summer program.  Friday and Saturday were filled with similar programming, including several hours where the public was invited to explore American Promise and check out some of the work we do.  We also had some time to bond with the fabulous staff at PCBC as we broke out the paddleboards and Laser sailboats for an afternoon of water play and watermelon.  After picking up 1,823 pieces of debris and working with 130 participants we were reluctant to leave Providence, so we extended our stay one more day to get some extra boat work and data input done, but on Monday morning we said goodbye to PCBC and sailed off.  We did manage to take a little piece of PCBC with us, as a staff member, Sean, joined us for our sail to our next destination…

 

Second stop: Jamestown, RI

           Rozalia Project arrived in Jamestown several hours after leaving Providence.  Upon arrival we had just enough time to set up before the delightful children of Jamestown hopped on board.  We discussed marine debris, searched the ocean floor for trash with the ROV, and played the “Name That Marine Debris” game with 30 students and counselors from local camps.  The day flew by, especially with the help of Sean, and before we knew it we were getting ready to set sail again for our final Rhode Island destination.  Little did we know that American Promise would not want to start her engine.  After hours of fiddling with the engine, we began to accept that we would not be able to sail out that night and would have to make other arrangements to get to our programming the next day.  It wasn’t until well after dark that we heard the roar of the engine.  Captain Kyle and his brother Shane had saved the day!

Third stop: Newport, RI

            Rozalia Project docked at the Alofson Pier in Newport in the middle of the night.  We immediately passed out in our bunks to get some sleep in preparation for the busy 2 days in Newport.  Tuesday and Wednesday were action packed as over 100 young sailors from Sail Newport stopped by to learn about marine debris.  Between trash races, ROV, and one beach cleanup, we picked up 1,715 pieces of trash!  We couldn’t have done it without the excitement and enthusiasm of Sail Newport’s staff and sailors, so thank you all!

We are now safely in Boston preparing for another week of exciting education activities and marine debris removal.  Keep checking back to read more blog posts about some of the debris we are finding and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and twitter too (facebook.com/rozaliaproject, @rozaliaproject)

Rozalia Project at the America's Cup World Series... really fast boats and getting people psyched to keep the ocean clean

For schedule and information about Rozalia Project's visit to Edgartown July 5-11, please scroll down or click HERE!

Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean has returned to Kittery, ME after a whirlwind four days of trash hunting, demonstrations, presentations, promotions and, of course, fantastic sailing at the America's Cup Series event in Newport, RI. 

We removed 53 pieces of marine debris with the ROV from a small area in the basin outside of Fort Adams, most of which was covered in a fine layer of sludge, crabs, and barnacles.   

Over 1,460 participants ventured to our booth and trash hunting tent, a picturesque spot situated perfectly between the race course and the race boats' moorings.  Hundreds of kids (and adults!) joined our support team, constantly running back and forth between the ROV on the dock and the screen on shore, marine debris held triumphantly overhead.  Our booth at the Exploration Zone also welcomed a steady stream of participants eager to learn more about our mission and all we do to remove marine debris.  


Rozalia Project ran our first Underwater Trash Hunt Challenge and congratulates Brad Read (Sail Newport), Martha Parker (Team One Newport) and Andy Green (AC commentator and pro sailor) for completing the challenge and getting the ROV to grab our trash-filled trap! Andy came out with the fastest time but we are impressed with all - as first time ROV pilots they showed some promise!

It is always a thrill to meet so many enthusiastic and supportive people who really care about doing their part to clean the world's oceans, and our Newport experience did not disappoint.  A huge thank you to our excellent host, Annie Becker, and thank you to Brad Read, Donna Kelly and the hard working crew from Sail Newport as well as all those who stopped by.  Cleaning the oceans is a grand task, and we cannot do it without you!  

We would also like to announce the first four winners of this summer's drawing.  In the upcoming weeks, we will complete a beach cleanup in your name and post an announcement and pictures on Facebook for each of your cleanups!  


Congrats to the following people:

Lucy Shea from Newport, RI

Chris Brett from Arrowsic, ME

Travis Bluemling from the Villages, FL

Kathy Clute from Bristol, CT

Remember to Like us on Facebook and check out our blog for more updates and photos from the summer's trash hunting activities!

Total trash count for Rozalia Project in 2012: 96,143

Our next adventure is a 120 mile sail from Kittery, ME to Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard, MA (via Gloucester and Provincetown). We have a full schedule featuring underwater trash hunting right from Memorial Wharf free and open to the general public as well as tours of American Promise, trash hunting, a program for junior sailors and special presentation for the members of Edgartown Yacht Club and their guests. See our Martha's Vineyard blog post or our Events and Shore Stops page for details on this as well as the rest of our shoreside programs. We hope to see you on the Vineyard... and beyond.

The current Rozalia Promise team: Blais, Marina, Rebecca, Sloane, Martha, Kyle and RZM

Ahhhh, success...

So we are just wrapping up programming here at Sail Newport, and I can honestly say it was a great week. Not only did we get to interact with and educate a lot of kids, but we also pulled up an insane amount of trash out of the waters here surrounding Newport. It was incredible to see not only the amount of trash in the water but the forgotten and left behind derelict fishing gear. The Rozalia Project was able to pull 8 massive lobster traps out of the water. Even more shocking was the amount of trash built up in the actual fishing gear and traps; no could have predicted what we found in these traps, everything from beer cans and rubber gloves, to golf balls and PVC pipes. Essentially, there was an overwhelming amount of "trash within the trash." It was probably one of the most gratifying moments I have had thus far with the Project. Even the reactions on the kids' and instructors' faces around us indicated to me that we had shown them something that they would not soon forget. It was a great feeling to be apart of the team to pull those massive under water trash collectors out of the water.

Fortunately, this feeling of success has been one that has seemed to follow us throughout Rhode Island; in the past week we have been through Newport, Jamestown, Providence, and Bristol. While it has been extremely busy, it has also brought us some great kids and lots of opportunities to help communities clean their waters. Amazingly enough, these places while close in distance to each other, I found to be very different from each other. Providence seemed to possess its own kind of energy, and the Community Boating Center it is a wonderful place with an incredibly dedicated staff. Bristol and Jamestown were both quiet places for me, but we made some great finds. At the Herreshoff Museum in Bristol, we were able to take on the slightly different role of treasure hunter. There, employing the ROV and a little bit of diving, we were able to recover a beautiful antique bronze anchor, which we gladly handed over to the museum (it has a permanent home there, go check it out!).

Sloane