Go Sailing and Adopt a Creature



Steve Cashdollar

Go Sailing With Us and Adopt A Creature at http://www.oceana.org/

 Hi.  We're sailing from Annapolis MD to Charleston SC, departing on April 15, 2012  on the 31ft Island Packet Yacht, "Oceana"  It's Greek for Oceans. Then, later, on to the Florida Keys, the Florida Panhandle, Mobile, AL, Gulfport Ms and eventually on to New Orleans, LA.  This trip came about after being inspired by some of the young people in my life, people that are doing things to make a difference.  My daughter Sarah is an RN, a nurse program- coordinator working with patients suffering from neurological conditions, my friend Tom Branum Jr raises money for water wells in Sierra Leone while working in a full-time business, Alex Kuehr, a Teach for America alum, teaches inner city students in New Orleans and my neighbor Hannah inspires me with her positive attitude and girl scout cookie success along with many others.  So, the idea of Go Sailing with Us and Adopt A Creature was born! 
http://www.oceana.org/.
Watch for more photos and video along the route. Invite a friend, teacher, classroom or neighbor to follow along and Go Sailing with Us.



Don Kuck

 The Crew

My lifelong friend Don Kuck, from New Bremen, Ohio will be the crew for the first leg and maybe more. We grew up together so I know he'll be a great asset. He's adventurous and knows how to  fix stuff and he's funny. He's also retired so if it takes two weeks or two months he doesn't care! His wife Jacqui just smiled when I said we may be gone for a while. He rides a Harley in his spare time so I figure a sailboat going 6.9 miles per hour will be a "breeze" for him. More about Don later in the trip.

The Yacht

Oceana is 24 years old, in excellent condition, sleeps 6 people, has a diesel engine and many sails.  It has a stove, refrigerator, radio, weather equipment including a barometer, an mp3 player, an
i-pad and navigation equipment, fresh water tanks, plenty of food and juice, several packs of Oreos and sophisticated navigation equipment and a GPS like your car navigation system, so we can find
Charleston SC.  But, no TV. You could live on Oceana for a week or two or longer.  (There's a bathroom and shower)


"Oceana"

The Idea

Sail, learn about the ocean along the U.S. Coastline and raise money. So invite your friends, school, classroom, or group to follow along. And comment along the way.

We're joining forces with Oceana.  http://www.oceana.org/.  I learned about Oceana after reading the book Oceana, by Ted Danson.  It's a well-researched book about our oceans and what we can do to save them. http://www.amazon.com/.

Oceana is the largest international organization working solely to protect the world’s oceans. Oceana wins policy victories for the oceans using science-based campaigns. Since 2001, we have protected over 1.2 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and other sea creatures. More than 500,000 supporters have already joined Oceana. Global in scope, Oceana has offices in North, South and Central America and Europe. http://oceana.org/en/about-us/what-we-do



Adopt a Sea Turtle like "NOAH"

The oceans are in trouble and we need your help to protect and restore them. There are many ways to support the work: you can become a Wavemaker, attend one of the Oceana events, or give in a number of other ways or you can Adopt a Creature. 

You can help. Go blog sailing with us and Adopt a Creature!

Why Make an Adoption? 

Oceana works to protect marine mammals such as the dolphin from being caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries. Your donation will help support Oceana's work on Capitol Hill to find clean, safe energy solutions and protect our coasts from oil pollution.

A great way to get involved is to Adopt a Creature!! Just go to oceana.org...click on Support Oceana....and click on Adopt a Creature or use this shortcut https://store.oceana.org/ . 

All Donations go directly to Oceana.



Adopt a Beautiful Killer Whale and Name Her!

Photos and information on Oceana, courtesy www. oceana.org



If you adopt a creature please comment on our blog or email us at -stevecashdollar@aol or kucky@nktelco.net.  Your comment or blog with inspire us to keep going!

The Problem

The oceans are vast, but they are not immune
 to human influence. We have already altered or destroyed many marine ecosystems and driven million-year-old species to the brink
of extinction. According to a study published
in Science, less than 4 percent of the oceans remain unaffected by human activity.

We are taking too many fish out of the water.

In the last few decades, commercial fishing
has evolved into a high-tech, heavily subsidized industry that uses cutting-edge electronics, computer systems, huge amounts of fuel and miles of gear to find and catch more fish in remote places formerly out of bounds to fishermen.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says that at least 75 percent of seafood species are over exploited, fully exploited or recovering from depletion and need more effective and precautionary management.

We are putting too many pollutants in the water.

Mercury is a toxic pollutant emitted by land-based industrial plants. This mercury finds its way back into our food chain via our seafood with potentially serious consequences. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), one in ten American women has enough mercury in her blood to pose a risk of neurological damage to her developing baby.
Meanwhile, offshore fish farming, rather than taking the pressure off wild seafood species, results in increased overfishing to feed the farmed fish as well as the despoiling of seafloor habitat. Concentrated fish waste dropped from the open-water pens blankets the ocean  bottom  .Last and perhaps most alarming, carbon dioxide is making our oceans more acidic. As a result, corals and other creatures at the base of the ocean food chains have trouble forming shells. Without a drastic reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, many of the world’s coral reefs will disappear and entire ocean ecosystems may collapse.

We are squandering the oceans’ resources.

Destructive fishing practices that include driftnets, loneliness and bottom trawls are ruining ocean ecosystems by indiscriminately killing fish and other wildlife, including seabirds and marine mammals. Each year, more than 16 billion pounds of catch are thrown overboard thanks to wasteful fishing techniques.
Bottom trawls drag heavily weighted nets along the ocean floor in search of fish or crustaceans in a practice akin to clacking a forest in order to catch a rabbit. Centuries-old habitats such as coral gardens are destroyed in an instant by bottom trawls, pulverized into barren plains. Endangered sea turtles drown on lounging hooks while sharks have their fins sliced from their bodies, which are then tossed overboard.

http://oceana.org/en/about-us/what-we-do

Our Route

Day 1  April 15    Rock Hall Md on the Chesapeake Bay heading to the mouth of the Monica River near Frederick's MD.  It will take all day because Oceans moves slow.  With a lot of wind we could make it in 8 hours, but a normal day with 8 to 10 know winds, probably 10 hours of sailing.

Map of the route   First leg Chesapeake to Charlest

Habitat on the Chesapeake The Chesapeake Bay provides food, water, cover, and nesting or nursery areas to more than 3,000 migratory and resident wildlife species. Habitat types range from hardwood forests of the Appalachian mountains to saltwater marshes in the Bay. These habitats are influenced by climate, soils, water, plant and animal interactions, and human activities. Riparian Forests Riparian forests are integral to the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams for many reasons. Their position in the landscape makes these forests excellent buffers between upland areas and the adjacent waters that will eventually enter the Bay. Riparian forest buffers are capable of filtering ground and surface water, stabilizing stream banks, providing shade, and supporting a variety of habitat. Freshwater Tributaries Within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, five major rivers the Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James provide almost 90 percent of the freshwater to the Bay. These rivers and other smaller rivers, along with the hundreds of thousands of creeks and streams that feed them, provide habitat necessary for the production of many fish species Shallow Water and Bay Grasses Underwater Bay grasses (also known as submerged aquatic vegetation or SAV) are plant communities that provide food and shelter for waterfowl, fish, shellfish, and invertebrates, and are a key contributor to the energy cycling in the Bay. Like other green plants, Bay grasses produce oxygen, a precious and sometimes lacking commodity in the Bay today. They also trap sediment that can cloud the water and bury bottom-dwelling organisms like oysters. During the growing season, Bay grasses remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus that could fuel unwanted growth of algae in the surrounding waters.  Chesapeake Blue Crab  Aquatic creatures like shrimp use Bay grass beds, tidal marshes, and shallow shoreline margins as nursery areas and for refuge. Along shorelines, fallen trees and limbs also give cover to small aquatic animals, and even unvegetated areas exposed at low tide are productive feeding areas. Microscopic plants cycle nutrients and are fed upon by crabs and fish. Open Water Although unseen by the naked eye, microscopic plants and animal life (plankton) float in the open waters. These tiny organisms form the food base for many other animals. Hundreds of thousands of wintering ducks, particularly sea ducks like scoters, old squaw, and mergansers, depend on open water for the shellfish, invertebrates, and fish they eat during the winter months. Open water also supports oysters and other bottom-dwellers. Oysters and other filter feeders help maintain water quality by filtering suspended organic particles out of the water. The oyster reef itself is a solid structure that provides habitat for other shellfish, finfish, and crabs. Islands and Inlands Bay islands are a haven for colonial waterbirds (terns and herons), waterfowl (ducks), and raptors (osprey and bald eagles). Islands can also protect underwater Bay grasses and shallow water areas from erosion and sedimentation.  (courtesy Chesapeake Bay Foundation. http://www.cbf.org/)

For Media  Inquiries http://oceana.org/en/news-media/press-center

See you soon!

 

Great Shearwater