Clean Up Australia Day
Whitsunday Escape family & friends rallied together to join in Clean Up Australia Day, volunteering their personal time to keep marine debris out of our region!
This event runs each year on the first Sunday in March, with schools, communities and businesses getting involved in their local litter sweeps.
We cruised out on our Leopard 48 & Leopard 46, with both owners generously allowing us the use of their boats. With 30 keen hands aboard, we set course for Double Cone, a nearby area that is exposed to wind and tidal currents.
Double Cone is comprised of two small islands, flanked by rocky beaches and shrubs. We collected over 250kg of debris, such as toothbrushes, thongs, wooden shelves, fuel containers, lighters, brushes & combs, plus hundreds of micro plastic pieces.
These items can cause severe damage to our marine residents, plus spoil the pristine environment which we’re so passionate about. Everything was sorted, recorded with Tangaroa Blue Foundation and recycled back at Coral Sea Marina.
Our belief is that most of the litter we found was not intentionally created. However, the sheer amount of trash we discovered serves as a reminder to be mindful of securing anything that could potentially blow overboard, and to minimize the use of plastic items in our grocery shop.