PLASTIC IN THE OCEAN BEGINS IN THE RIVERS

I don't see a lot of plastics when I'm sailing BIANKA in my local waters of Long Island
Sound. When I do I always make an attempt to try and pick it up. But, there are
parts of the world where floating Plastic is much more of a problem. It’s good to see that
some inventive thinkers are working to not only cleanup the floating plastics in the
Ocean but also at the source namely some of the worlds rivers.

Meet the INTERCEPTOR:

WATERS OF THE WORLD: DANGER SIGNS

There certainly is the potential for danger when you head out on the waters of the seas but, you can find it far inland too! In May of 2009 I found myself on the Zambezi River in Botswana just just a few miles up river from Victoria Falls. This sign says it all:

NOAA, NO WHA? & THE HAPPY ENDING

Well yesterday started great despite the 3:30 wake up call to get underway. This was to make sure BIANKA and I would be riding the flood current through Plum Gut which began around 5 AM. All was good and we zipped through as planned. But, then things went bad for awhile. I was doing this passage because NOAA weather had said the winds would be southwest for the next two days. Great,  I thought I could hug the coast to Mattituck and on to Port Jefferson.  Maybe make Port Jeff in one day. Well, it was not to be. When I got in the Sound instead of the southwest winds NOAA had been saying the winds were blowing out of the west northwest around 20 knots. Nasty with wind against current flooding into the sound. I quickly decided that heading to Connecticut was my best option. So I headed north to Saybrook Point and the Connecticut River. Where I had a delightful 6 mile sail up the river to a place I had been wanting to go for years. Hamburg Cove. It was as picturesque and sheltered as I imagined it would be.

Being the day after labor day most of the summer crowds were already gone. The Osprey were still here a sure sign summer is still with us. But, along the banks there were other signs that fall was on it's way. Just a little tinge of yellow in some of the trees along the shore fortold of it's coming.

Though it's one of those places I would avoid in the summertime as some sailors I know describe it. Packed full of boats and boats packed full of people there to "party". But, now this time of year it's just a delightful place to spend a day or two until things clam down in the sound. I took the dingy up the creek to the small town of Hamburg.

There were a few marinas and a small general store there. The marinas seem to be full of craftsman who specialize in providing the old classic wooden boats that line it's docks with the proper loving care

and restoring those in need of that too.

So I can't be too angry at the forecasters of NOAA for blowing the forecast because in the end I got to see a truly beautiful spot on this earth with my boat.