"Mike, it's essentially just a glorified sparkler." --Trevor Jones, captain
We were back on a normal schedule this morning, and we were awake at 7am and on the beach by about 8:15. Today was our last day of marine debris cleanup, and we collected more debris today than any other day this week. We removed the remaining three sections of webbing/netting/fishing line, and the first section easily weighed between 250 and 300 pounds (it took four of us to drag it down the beach to load in a supersack). We collected close to 1000 pounds of debris today, which was a nice way to finish our week of cleanup. We're split on whether we prefer trail work or debris cleanup. In the first case, we started with mostly untouched woodlands and left behind a trail; in the second, we began with a beach strewn with fishing detritus and tried to leave behind nothing.
We returned to the Island C at about 1pm and sailed out of Big Bay. At this point, we're pretty efficient at moving from one place to the next. It takes all of us working together, but we can load the debris into the holds, hoist the supersacks onto the upper deck, load the kayaks into the skiffs, hoist the skiffs to the upper deck, and bring up the anchor in about 30 minutes. We sailed southwest in the Shelikof for approximately eight hours, and we passed the time watching the incredible scenery. There were spectacular snow-capped mountains on both sides of the strait; we also saw a small pod of fin whales and two large groups of Dall's porpoises. The porpoises were thrilling to watch, as both groups approached the boat from the south and turned around when they reached us to swim out in front of the boat. Standing on the bow, we watched as the porpoises leapt and dove just feet in front of us. A few of us also watched movies and spent time in the wheelhouse with Andy and our captain, Trevor.
Katie delivered tonight's presentation, and she spoke about environmental engineering and New York City's drinking water. We finished the evening anchored in Port Bailey, between Bare Island and Dry Spruce Island, where we celebrated the Fourth of July by using flares as makeshift fireworks. Ships like the Island C are required to carry flares to signal for help in times of distress, but the flares expire after three years. Since flares typically never get used, most vessels have a surplus of flares onboard. So, after alerting the Coast Guard of our location (yes, really!), Trevor fired two parachute flares from the deck of the boat and the interns burned smoke flares. It wasn't completely dark out -- because it never is -- and it technically wasn't even the Fourth in Alaska. But we had to alert the Coast Guard, so we all agreed this was just as dramatic as the Macy's display over the Hudson River. Click below for today's photos.
Macy's fireworks are overrated! Awesome mountain views too.
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