Crew Accounts:
2005 Central Pacific Research Voyage

LAURIE HARVEY
Seabird Ecologist
ORV Alguita Crew member 2005

When we set off on this journey I was thrilled at the prospect of a new adventure. This was to be a learning vacation for me, and I embraced the chance to participate as an observer. I looked forward to learning to live at sea on a tiny mobile island, to the new species I would add to my life-list, and to the feeling of awe that accompanies vast, isolated vistas. I expected the ocean to be a place for calm introspection and reconnection to our blue planet.

This peacefulness, however, gave way to shock as I saw sample after sample filled with plastic particles of every description. Of course I had known that plastic contamination was a serious issue, but when I observed the densities accumulated hundreds of miles from shore in the serene waters of the North Pacific Gyre, my intellectual detachment morphed into very real anger and despair. What have we done to our oceans? Is there any hope for a cleaner and more sustainable future?

Now, three weeks later, with our first glimpse of land before us and our bow packed with the debris we have removed from the sea during our travels, I ask these questions again. I think of the individuals and organizations around the world whose purpose is to answer through positive action. I look around at the six people on the Alguita, all of whom bring unique and important talents to bear on the problems we face today. I see Captain Charles Moore’s passion for the planet, and his drive to effect change through education and research. And all of these things make me believe that where there is willingness to face the problems we have created, there is hope.

Posted: 8/17/05