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Plastic is designed to last forever, but we use it for products that last for minutes. Worldwide, an estimated 11 million tons of plastic are dumped into the world's oceans every year. eXXpedition is a female-only sailing venture planned to circumnavigate the globe examining the causes of plastic pollution. Founded in 2014 and under the leadership of ocean advocate and skipper Emily Penn, the organization sponsors hands-on sailing expeditions to better understand the growing plastic disaster and look for solutions. In 2019, eXXpedition launched a three-year, round-theworld expedition that would include 30 voyages of 10-woman crews sailing a combined total of 38,000 miles. With her sailing and science background, Santa Cruz marine biologist and sailor Rikki Eriksen was a natural fit for the project. She joined the all-women team for the longest leg of the journey, from the Azores to Antigua, more than 2,200 miles. The crew, who would be in each other's pockets for the next five weeks, included an author, a photographer, a women's advocate, a government bureaucrat, a teacher, a scientist, a skipper, the first mate, a representative from the plastic industry, and Eriksen, the marine biologist. They met as strangers and parted as best friends. Their vessel was TravelEdge, a sturdy 73-ft steel ketch with the highest safety rating possible — MCA Category 0. She was equipped to sail anywhere in the world in any conditions, and specially chosen by the British army for an expedition to Antarctica. She kept the female crew members safe and secure, even during the two record-setting storms the Azores crew encountered late in the hurricane season. "We shared 17 sunsets and sunrises, ate 55 packets of biscuits, and conducted 300 scientific studies," Eriksen says with a laugh. "We danced, we cried, we braided hair, we laughed, and we cranked winches. We cleaned up beaches and met with ministers in different countries. Nobody ever yelled on the whole trip. We cooperated rather than competed. This was by far the best crew I've ever sailed with. The positive, supportive atmosphere was refreshing — it was magical how patient we were with each other. And of course, chocolate, midnight biscuits and singing at the moon helped. "The ocean looked amazing," Eriksen explained, "but our surveys revealed a plastic soup — the water was filled with microparticles. We found a plastic spoon 1,200 miles from land. I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation after a baleen whale followed us for days. For each particle it ingested, only one in seven was actually nutritious food, the rest plastic. If the fish we eat are consuming plastic, then we will ultimately eat plastic. Some studies reveal we all have plastic in our systems." Every piece of plastic that has ever been made still exists and will always exist. Over the course of the eXXpedition, the crew recorded half a million pieces of microplastic per square kilometer just on the top layer of water. The microplastic we see today is 30 years old, which means we still have much more floating around, breaking into smaller and smaller bits. "Plastic is not the enemy," insists Eriksen. "We designed it. We demand it. But that just means we need to take responsibility for it." After five weeks with eXXpedition, Eriksen returned more on fire than ever about empowering women and protecting our ocean. In her work as director of marine programs for California Marine Sanctuary Foundation (CMSF) in Santa Cruz, Rikki focuses on ocean plastic, sea-level rise, protected areas, and offshore wind energy, providing leadership and outreach with partners statewide. One CMSF team works on plastic along the West Coast. "We have a
Latitude 38 is excited that the Crew List Party will return to the Bay Model Visitor Center in Sausalito on the evening of Thursday, September 9. However, a few details have changed due to evolving event protocols. Most importantly, we will be holding the party outside, in the plaza in front of the Bay Model, and not indoors. (This is Sausalito — dress in layers!) Because the sun will set at 7:30 p.m., we've shifted the times a bit earlier. Instead of 6-9 p.m., we'll hold the party from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Unfortunately, Dick Markie of Paradise Village Marina and Geronimo Cevallos of Marina El Cid have had to cancel their trip from Mexico to the Bay Area and will not present their cruising seminar that normally precedes the Fall Crew Party. There's a possibility that we may be able to share a virtual seminar with our attendees, but that's yet to be confirmed.
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SOPHIE DINGWALL
sailing women take on ocean plastic crisis
Inset left: Dr. Rikki Eriksen. Above: The crew who crossed the Atlantic together in front of the Antigua Yacht Club. Below: 'TravelEdge', a steel ketch built for any conditions. Right: The crew enjoyed a contest in full costume made of plastic at the halfway mark across the Atlantic, but festivities were shortened to 20 minutes due to an approaching squall. EXXPEDITION
ERICA CIRINO
SIGHTINGS
