Bummer Balloons or Fun MOB Drill?

A reader sent us a snippet the other day about finding plastic ‘decorations’ on the water. As any sailor knows, trash in our waters is a nagging problem. Even though most longtime Bay Area residents recognize that our local waters have dramatically improved over the last three decades, there’s still plenty of trash to be found on any given day of sailing. In fact, several readers have sent us stories and pictures of their cleanup efforts. It makes us wonder, how many of you are picking up trash while you’re on the water? We’d like to know.

My friends and I went on a cruise from Long Beach to Catalina, and on the way out, I saw several balloons on the water. It bummed me out. I suggested to the crew that we pick up the next balloon as man overboard practice. It was fun, and it felt good. So we did it again. Then we were on a mission.

Everyone got a chance to drive and pick up balloons. It was great fun. By the end of our four-day cruise, we had ‘rescued’ 16 balloons. We found the older balloons easier to get on the boat hook. But we were able to get all of the ones we went for. Join the fun! Pick up balloons or whatever you find.