This past weekend the Precision Sails team headed over to Pender Island, a portion of the Southern Gulf Islands, for some training, and relaxation. This 34km2 island is a beautiful spot nestled in between Mayne Island and Saturna Island on the Westcoast and offers up lots of opportunities for sailing, kayaking, and hiking. Sadly, many of the small beaches located around the island accumulate debris and garbage and are often neglected for long periods.
On Saturday our team spent the day cleaning up local beaches on Pender making a competition out of it. The first team to fill a few garbage bags with trash would win a prize. After breaking into three teams each headed to a different beach. The amount of trash pulled from local beaches was astonishing, and some of the items were so large they had to be broken up to haul them out.
At the end of the day, Jeremy and Elem (Sail Designer and IT) won the grand prize for pulling the most amount of garbage off of their beach. The remainder of the weekend was filled with training and relaxation, taking in and enjoying our Westcoast.
The next time you go on a trip or walk along a local beach take some time to pick up some of the litter that you find laying around. You will be surprised at what and how much you might find. As sailors, we need to take the initiative to be stewards of our environment and protect the beaches, ocean and sea life.
