In the wake of last week’s Southern California wildfires sparked by dry conditions and sweeping winds, environmental concerns continue to grab national attention.
But even as the smoke and ash dissipate over coastal waters, one man is making an incredible journey to bring attention to the danger posed by another threat to the environment: plastics in the ocean.
That’s the idea 44-year-old endurance athlete Tom Jones has in mind as he paddleboards down the California coast on a 1,250-mile journey from Crescent City to San Diego to bring attention to plastic garbage in the oceans.
San Diego Coastkeeper has partnered with Jones and California Paddle 2007 participants, who plan to paddle out to meet Jones just off of the Ocean Beach Pier on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 9 a.m., Jones said. All human-powered vessels are invited to paddle out to meet Jones as he completes the last leg of his journey, according to officials with San Diego Coastkeeper.
“I’m doing it to try to bring awareness to the plastic content in the water and the need to do something about this problem.” Jones said, “People are being real receptive.”
Jones started his journey Aug. 7 and has spent an average of five hours each day standing atop and powering his 14-foot paddleboard, which looks like a big surfboard, along the coast, he said.
At the most grueling point, Jones battled through a 27-mile, one-day paddle out of the rough waves of Big Sur along California’s central coast. In the three days prior, conditions along the coast required Jones to endure a 17-mile paddle. All of this took a toll on his body.
“So you can imagine how fun Big Sur must’ve been,” he said.
Paddling at an average of 3 to 5 mph caused parts of his hands and arms to numb and his feet to cramp, he said.
“It hasn’t been pain free by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.
On Oct. 18, he had shored in Seal Beach, about six days ahead of schedule. It was time well needed because of the wind and fire conditions that would eventually blow smoke out into his path, he said.
Jones said he paddled through the smoke for a time, but subsequently had to take two days off because of eye problems and chest pains, he said.
Just in case of such emergencies, a Honda RX 12 Jet Ski travels along side Jones and keeps in almost constant contact via radio with a equipment truck.
At the end of his journey, Jones will be joined by about 30 paddlers near the Ocean Beach Pier and talk about his journey, as well as the problems caused by plastics in the ocean, he said.
He said he realized how big the problem was when he was paddling with friend and women’s surfing champion, Jericho Poppler, near Maples Island in Long Beach. The duo saw a huge amount of plastic products in the water.
“The more I started asking her the questions, the more I started finding out it’s a significant problem,” he said.
Discarded plastic fishing gear and other plastic debris kill more than 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles each year, according to the Ocean Conservancy’s 2006 International Coastal Cleanup report. More than 80 percent of trash found in the ocean originates on land, according to the Ocean Conservancy website, www.oceanconservancy.org.
An avid endurance athlete, Jones has used his feats of accomplishment to bring awareness to environmental issues. He once ran 121 marathons in a row at about 26 miles a day. He plans to complete the Ironman Island race, which includes cycling and paddleboarding, then will run around the big island of Hawaii, he said. He hopes to race the Ironman Island this summer.
Come Nov. 3, however, volunteers for the paddle out will remove debris when they paddle out to meet Jones this weekend for the cleanup effort, said Danille Miller, outreach director for San Diego Coastkeeper.
“The volunteers feel a sense of empowerment to be part of bringing this awareness about plastics to the mainstream that’s happening all over right now,” said Miller.
In addition to Jones’ retelling of his journey, a live bluegrass band will provide music. Attendees will also have a chance at 7 p.m. to win two tickets to an annual ocean gala fund-raiser at Hotel Coronado.
For more information on Jones and the paddle-out cleanup effort, visit www.californiapaddle.com. For more information on the San Diego Coastkeeper, visit www.sdcoastkeeper.org.