Bass Strait, Everest of the Sea Fundraiser

Jarad

Hi, I’m Jarad.

I’m about to do something I’ve dreamed of doing for years, paddling across Bass Strait on a racing surf ski.  No-one has ever crossed Bass Strait on a surf ski before, so this is also my (only) claim to fame for being involved in a ‘World’s First’ expedition!!!

There are 8 of us doing the crossing, departing the North-east coast of Tasmania on 7 April and (weather-permitting) arriving at Wilsons’ Prom.  In total we’ll paddle 300km.

The purpose of this expedition is to help raise money for Surfrider Foundation (www.surfrider.org.au ), a non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection and enhancement of Australia’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through CARE: Conservation, Activism, Research and Education.

We really don’t know how lucky we are in this country to have such beautiful beaches and coastal environs, but many of these beautiful beaches are littered with plastic bags, bottles and other rubbish. Even worse, this rubbish often creates deadly traps for birds, fish, crabs/crayfish and other marine life. Next time you head to your local beach, take a plastic bag with you and see how long it takes to fill it up with rubbish. Surfrider Foundation is doing an amazing job in leading the way with its beach conservation and community education campaigns, and I am very proud to be using this expedition to raise much needed $ for Surfrider.

During this expedition, we will be paddling for up to 8 hours per day, then landing on a beach on one of Bass Strait’s many beautiful islands to set up camp.  After dinner, each of us will then spend an hour picking up all the rubbish we can find on the beach and in the dunes, then recording what we’ve collected and advising Surfrider of the results.  Surfrider will input this data to the National Marine Debris database and use the results to educate the community and raise awareness of marine debris; trace and address the source of the debris in a non-aggressive, education based way; and to monitor the impact of marine debris on Australian locations.

We’re running a sweep amongst the team of 8 paddlers to guess how many large bags full of rubbish we’ll end up with at the end of the expedition.  The person who’s the furthest from the correct answer gets the job of carting all the collected rubbish to the recycling center and tip at the end of the trip!

Surfrider are currently active in Victoria through their Branches and Beach reps in Torquay, Gippsland, Mornington Peninsula, Warnambool and Port Fairy. Recent activities in Victoria include 2009’s Save Bastion Point campaign, regular dune care and beach cleanups in all above areas, and contribution to local environmental issues and initiatives. In Tasmania, Surfrider are active in Hobart at Mays Points, removing the invasive introduced Northern Pacific Sea Star, campaigning against the Tassie Pulp Mill, as well as an annual marine debris cleanup in the South West World heritage area.

If like me you’re a proud Aussie who loves the beach, I’d encourage you to please sponsor me for this crossing, and help Surfrider to keep fighting the good fight to protect our oceans and beaches.

If you’d like to sponsor me for this crossing, please donate here