Originally we had planned to run the Clean Up Flotilla in Phuket, however current travel restrictions means we have moved this year’s Flotilla to the Whitsundays, where it all started for Ocean Crusaders.

As a skipper in the Whistundays working with several companies, I had the unfortunate occurrence of pulling dead turtles out of the waters. This is what drives Ocean Crusaders, giving those creatures a voice. So it is with great pleasure that we return to the place where it all started for the World’s First Clean Up Flotilla.

Working with Sunsail, Whitsunday Rent A Yacht and Whitsunday Getaways, we have put together a flotilla starting Sunday 25th October through to Friday 30th. We will kick things off with a BBQ on the Saturday evening and there are opportunities to stay on the boat that evening at Shute Harbour.

We will then sail off into the islands on the Sunday morning with a mission to not only visit the best spots in the Whitsundays, but to find some beaches to clean as well. It’s time we all gave back and this is your opportunity to

do this in company.

Vessels are available to charter from Sunsail and Whitsunday Rent A Yacht, or you can go for the all- inclusive option from Whitsunday Getaways, a vessel I used to skipper when I was up there. You will travel in company to new places and every day we will visit a beach for a quick clean up before enjoying everything the Whitsundays has to offer.

You can even bring your own boat too if you are fortunate to have one up there.

It’s time to travel locally and give back to the industry that has been hardest hit by the current pandemic. We encourage people to make a stay of it and visit Airlie Beach for a few days around the event and spend some money in local restaurants and shops.

For full details of this Flotilla, visit www.OceanCrusaders.org/Whitsundays and book your spot today as places won’t last long.

Ocean Crusaders is a charity dedicated to cleaning our oceans and waterways to prevent marine life from suffering from the horrible fate of plastic ingestion or suffocation.

by Ian Thomson