Yaaaarrrrrr, Hippies!

Cryptic Moth took a short flight to Honolulu with Charlie and Adam to hook-up with the Greenpeace vessel, Esperanza (Spanish for hope).



The 74-meter ex-firefighting vessel is an impressive ship outfitted with 4 zodiacs (also called ribs), a helicopter, a working crew of 18 and 13 various campaigners and media.



We spent the first day filming Greenpeace’s press conference on the heli-deck where Charlie stole the show, making 2 major networks that night.



The ship also held open-houses to the public and a soiree for friends and donors where Gad showed off his exceptional bartending skills.


(Not the actual bar...or beer.)

Although our departure was delayed by a day, Cryptic Moth took advantage by getting scenic shots of Honolulu, boarding sequences with Charlie, profiles of Adam and stocking up on various supplies.



On the morning of the 26th, a small group from the ship drove to the north shore of Oahu, a surfing Mecca with stunning beaches.



We were there to clean-up the litter on one of the beaches next to a public golf course. While it wasn’t as bad as what we saw on the big island, two hours of collection yielded about a ton of plastic debris.



And what a photo-op it made.



Beyond fishing nets and floats,



Greenpeace gathered dozens of toothbrushes, plates, cups, lighters and shoes.



Charlie even uncovered a honey hole of golf balls in a reef 20 yards offshore. To his credit, Charlie fought the current to bring back all 410 golf balls and returned them to the manager of the club house.



The manager was equally appalled and agreed to put them on display as a warning to future golfers.



After lunch in a small surfer town, Cryptic Moth climbed aboard one of Greenpeace’s famous zodiac boats. A local group of rowers even made the trek out to wish us well.



The plan is to motor northeast towards the eastern garbage patch and document the dangers of plastic debris in the ocean.



The enormity of the North Pacific lies before us and we are ready.



Out.

I+G

Cryptic Voyage #3 - Plastic In Paradise

As difficult as it is to leave the Canadian winter behind, Cryptic Moth accepted an invitation to board a Greenpeace vessel in Hawaii and sample for plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean. They are following up on the fine work done by Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation (see Alphabet Soup post) who has been documenting how plastics accumulate in our oceans and how they can impact marine animals.



We arrived on the big island of Hawaii a few days before our departure to visit with the Captain. Unfortunately, Charlie spent the first day busy repairing broken windows and cracked cement pillars as a result of the recent earthquake. We took the opportunity to drive around the island filming various scenic spots with Greenpeace scientist, Adam.



But we were not there simply as tourists. The following day we awoke at 4am to visit Camillo Beach – one of the dirtiest beaches in the world. Getting to the south side of the island, however, required serious off-road vehicles called Unimogs. The three-hour drive was loud, bumpy and muddy. Needless to say, Gad loved every single moment of it.



As you might expect, this was not your ordinary day at a Hawaiin beach. Because of prevailing winds and ocean currents, Camillo beach collects a ton of this crap - everything from bottles to floats to toothbrushes, lighters etc. Surprisingly, the group who showed us around (Ron, Noni, Dayton and Jen) helped clean this very beach only 5 months earlier! In one particularly bad area, the litter piled 3-feet high and 3-feet deep. It was as if plastic was taking the place of sand. Yum.



It was a long, hot day of shooting but well worth the trek.



Tomorrow we fly to the island of Oahu to board the Esperanza, a Greenpeace vessel sailing the globe in defense of our oceans.



Out.

I+G