#sailforscience – Solo non-stop 2012 circumnavigator of the Americas record-holder Matt Rutherford, homeport Annapolis USA, and Ocean Research Project founder, surveyed the Atlantic Sargasso Sea Gyre for plastics pollution in 2013, is now venturing to do the same in the Pacific for the first ever continent-to-continent (Oakland, California to Fukuoka, Japan) survey of microplastics pollution writes Joan Wenner.
Readers will recall it was Rutherford and project scientist Nicole Trenholm aboard their 42' research sailboat we reported here last September 26 the pair's treacherous and harrowing encounter with the abandoned sailing vessel Wolfhound and the valiant yet unsuccessful salvage attempt to tow her to Bermuda. This 2014 "sail for science" is expected to cover over 6,500 nautical miles. Track them at www.oceanresearchproject.org.