Hi, I’m Jarad Kohlar.
I’m about to do something I’ve dreamed of doing for years – paddling across Bass Strait on a racing surf ski. I have paddled across Bass Strait twice before, both times in a sea kayak, however no-one has ever crossed Bass Strait on a surf ski, so this is a world-first expedition!
Jarad
There are seven of us doing the crossing, departing from Wilsons Promontory in Victoria on 17 February, 2011 and arriving (weather-permitting) on the north-east coast of Tasmania on 24 February. In total we’ll paddle 300km.
The purpose of this expedition is to help raise money for Surfrider Foundation (www.surfrider.org.au), a non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection and enhancement of Australia’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through CARE: Conservation, Activism, Research and Education.
We really don’t know how lucky we are in this country to have such beautiful beaches and coastal environs, but many of these beautiful beaches are littered with plastic bags, bottles and other rubbish. Even worse, this rubbish often creates deadly traps for birds, fish, crabs/crayfish and other marine life. Next time you head to your local beach, take a plastic bag with you and see how long it takes to fill it up with rubbish. Surfrider Foundation is doing an amazing job in leading the way with its beach conservation and community education campaigns, and I am very proud to be using this expedition to raise much needed $ for Surfrider Foundation.
During this expedition, we will be paddling for up to 8 hours per day, then landing on a beach on one of Bass Strait’s many beautiful islands to set up camp. After dinner, each of us will then spend an hour picking up all the rubbish we can find on the beach and in the dunes, then recording what we’ve collected. This data will be entered into Surfrider’s National Marine Debris database the results can then be used to educate the community and raise awareness of marine debris; trace and address the source of the debris in a non-aggressive, education based way; and to monitor the impact of marine debris on Australian locations.
Surfrider are currently active in Victoria through their Branches and Beach reps in Melbourne, Torquay, Gippsland, Mornington Peninsula, Warnambool and Port Fairy. In Tasmania, Surfrider are active in Hobart at Mays Points, removing the invasive introduced Northern Pacific Sea Star, campaigning against the Tassie Pulp Mill, as well as an annual marine debris cleanup in the South West World heritage area.
If like me you’re a proud Aussie who loves the beach, I’d encourage you to please sponsor us for this crossing, and help Surfrider Foundation to keep fighting the good fight to protect our oceans and beaches.
If you’d like to sponsor us for this crossing, please donate here
