Monday 2/6/08

Our current position: 1610 PST, Lat: 33 07.00N, Long: 118 30.65W, heading 280 at 2 knots w/ Junk in tow.

As I’m sure most of our readership is aware the raft Junk was ceremoniously launched from Rainbow Harbor, Long Beach yesterday afternoon in front of a cheering crowd of well over a thousand, bound for Hawaii via the slowest method available. The Alguita was full up with 10 people traveling overnight to Avalon; Junk in tow, where the 60 Minutes Australia film crew, and two volunteers from Save Our Shores in Santa Cruz Emily and Aleah, who had come down to help out and be part of the event.

The large procession of friends and onlookers we had traveling with us as we departed rainbow harbor dwindled through yesterday afternoon and evening, by the morning it was just Alguita Junk and the Banyan, Jody Lemons Sailboat and the Junks escort for the first two hundred miles or so.

We will tow the raft through the night and up until tomorrow evening. By then hopefully we will be far enough from land for the prevailing winds to coming from a favorable direction, and then it’s a downhill ride for junk all the way to Hawaii.

In almost unrelated matters, The regular crew of Alguita (Charlie, Sam, and myself), spent the morning and early afternoon Saturday at the Newport Back-bay Science Center open house. For Anyone who lives in Orange County or more specifically anyone who lives in part of its highly developed watershed this is an important place, helping to both educate the public and conduct long term monitoring as well as restoration of the natural lands left in that area.

The Picture is of the Junk under tow with Rainbow Harbor in the background, you can also see the Banyan, the green sailboat that is behind Junk

-Jeff