The Annette is a recently restored gaff-rigged schooner, 66 foot, 55 tonnes, extremely strong carvel oak planked on oak frames. She was built to sail in the harshest conditions and is, to this day, extremely seaworthy. For her 110th birthday she was given a vital new purpose. She is going fishing again, but this time not for fish – for marine plastic!
With the help of The Annette, the Clean Ocean Sailing team are:
- Sailing, rowing and paddling to inaccessible places to collect marine litter.
- Running workshops on repurposing and recycling marine litter.
- Raising awareness in the community about the amount of plastic waste in our marine environment and the damage it does.
- Inspiring a wider audience to join the fight against plastic pollution by organizing shared events and experiences.
Clean Ocean Sailing started weighing, counting and recording the amount of marine litter that they collected on their clean-ups in December 2017. Since then, they have collected over 55 tons of man-made rubbish from the sea.
More than 200 volunteers have joined them, lending a hand in their various areas of expertise to help them make the movement work in bigger scale. They help on clean-ups, restoring The Annette, office work, creatives and communications, talking to and helping businesses become plastic free, and coordinating events.
The ocean is huge, and Clean Ocean Sailing are just tiny fish swimming in it, but they are committed to doing their best to clean up the horrendous amount of plastic litter that humans are putting into the rivers and ocean each moment.
Latest Project Updates
June 2023
Funding for Ocean Wellbeing Project
The Matthew Good Foundation has provided a funding package over the next three years for "The Ocean Well Being Project" which will bring together marine conservation and positive social outreach, offering individuals from disadvantaged communities the opportunity to participate in ocean clean-up missions.