June 16, 2010
By Leslie Peate
Why does the ocean call to some of us? Why are some so dedicated to her that they leave land and its amenities behind for the open sea? This answer is different for everyone on board the SSV Corwith Cramer. Right now we have men and women from all walks of life volunteering their time and energy in answering the ocean's call once again. We also have a captain, mates, scientists, engineers, and a steward that make a living on the sea. Do we miss our family and friends? Do we miss simple things like ice, showers every day, sleeping more than 4 hours in a row, and TV and cell phones? Of course we do. But something still pulls all of us back to sea, to once again go without, to feel the wind at our backs and the swell of the ocean, to smell the salty sea air free of air pollution.
While seafaring traditions and education are still an important part of this cruise, science is our real focus and goal. We are the plastic crusaders this expedition. We are neuston-net-towing, CTD-deploying, surface-station-collecting sailors. We are here to give back something to the ocean that gives so much to us.
The days are long, and the work can be tedious, but the research we do is worth the hardened hands, sore backs and sunburned faces. In less than a week we have collected more than 2,000 tiny pieces of plastic in our nets. Imagine how many are actually out there – our calculations put the number at more than one million pieces floating just in the swath of ocean we can see from the deck of our ship. The data and samples we are collecting on this cruise will keep scientists busy for years. The research will probably lead to more unanswered questions – as any good scientific quest should – but this expedition is an important piece of the puzzle in the effort to understand our effect on the environment.
As I write this, we are more than 900 nautical miles from my hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., and equally as far from any other major piece of land. Even here, virtually in the middle of nowhere, every sample we collect conclusively shows our harmful presence in the environment. The plastic we take for granted doesn't just disappear when the soda bottle is empty or the DVD is unwrapped – if not disposed of properly, it can end up swirling forever as our toxic legacy to the oceans. Being back on the Cramer after 11 years has reminded me that we need to continue to take ownership of our environment and respect what we have been given.
