So. California/Santa Barbara Channel Boaters- Help Needed

[C-Hawk]

Capt. Dave Bacon needs our help. Capt. Dave is a local legend around the Santa Barbara waterfront community. Let's get some C-BRAT gatherings for assistance.
Roger


I need your help.

I am working on a grant project proposal for a marine debris prevention/removal/education/outreach project. The project will help clean up the ocean in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. In subsequent grant periods, I hope to expand the project statewide. I am teaming with a variety of organizations and individuals. The proposal team consists of myself, Dr. Carrie Culver from California Sea Grant Extension and Dr. Patti Halpin from UCSB.

Along with the proposal, my proposal team needs to submit commitments of volunteer effort from organizations and individuals, totaling at least 100 days during an 18-month period beginning next summer. The volunteer time will be assessing and removing marine debris of all sorts (fishing gear, plastics and other trash, driftwood, etc.) both ashore and at sea. There will be 3 organized events during the 18 month project. Not all volunteer work needs to be during the 3 events. Indivduals and small teams can work on their own schedules and report their time, effort and results (we need to coordinate these efforts in advance).

Besides volunteer days, I also need commitments from folks willing to donate the use of their boats (with the owner at the helm, naturally) for dive trips and other assessment/removal projects. I additionally need volunteer scuba divers and perhaps snorkelers. We cannot provide insurance coverage, so all volunteers will understand they are under their own policies.

I ask that anyone who is willing to volunteer please send me a private e-mail to captain@wavewalker.com. In the subject line, please include "MARINE DEBRIS", so I can spot your message before my sometimes overzealous spam guard system shuffles your message away. In the body of your message please state specifically what you commit to the project. Please include your name and contact info. I'll submit your e-mail with the proposal.

We are looking for matching funds and in-kind services, so please let me know how you can help. Perhaps there are even some willing financial resources here to help with matching funds.

The Santa Barbara Channel is my office as well as my recreational space and I am extremely excited about putting together a major project to report and monitor debris of all sorts, remove it and have some fun contests to help make it fun and exciting.

Can you help? I need your commitments by November 20th for inclusion in the proposal packet (though commitments after that will ultimately be helpful).

Sincerely,

Capt. David Bacon
captain@wavewalker.com
<REMEMBER put ?marine debris? line specifics about what you can volunteer in of the message, along with your and contact info body subject to name>