The FSC Power Section hosted their annual Rottnest Olympics at Thomson Bay, Rottnest Island on Saturday, 20th November 2021 on a beautiful hot summers’ day. Several boats left the Fremantle Sailing Club early morning under calm boating conditions. This event was well attended with 42 participants joining in a variety of beach games near the Army Jetty in Thomson Bay. The last event of the day was Beachcombing, with 10 Bonus Points being awarded to all participants to promote the importance of keeping our beaches clean as part of our involvement with the FSC Marine Environment Committee.
Every effort was made to leave the beach as clean as we had found it. In addition to having provided receptacles for all waste generated during the event, our Rottnest Olympic participants, along with Power Section Committee Members, cleaned up after themselves.
The group of participants, young and old alike, were divided into four groups. In a timed event encompassing some 500 meters of beach, each group was supplied with personal protective equipment and a large bag per team to collect rubbish from the beach area where the Rottnest Olympics had been held. This 30-minute challenge was worth an extra 10 points per participant on their Olympic Score Sheet! On the sound of the whistle, everyone scuttled off in all directions along the beach and the Army Jetty to find as much rubbish as they could. (Refer to Map 1 & Map 2).
While none of the items collected could be classed as dangerous, a surprising variety of flotsam and rubbish was collected. This shows that even on beaches as clean as the ones found on Rottnest Island, vigilance is required to keep them this way.
Itemised on the Tangaroa Blue Data Collect Sheet (50 items in total) – refer attachment.
1 x Cigarette Butt
4 x Personal care & pharmaceutical packaging
1 x Strapping band scraps
1 x Fishing line
1 x Rope & net scraps less than 1 metre
4 x Plastic bits & pieces hard & solid
1 x Remnants burnt plastic
20 x Glass wine, spirit, and similar bottles – (broken pieces)
3 x Cloth, clothing, hats & towels
8 x Metal bottle caps, lids & pull tabs
1 x Rubber remnants
1 x Processed timber, pallets & other wood
ELIMINATION OF SINGLE-USE ITEMS:
- Eliminate Single-Use Water Bottles and Provide Water Refill Stations
All Rottnest Olympic participants were requested to bring their own water bottles. In previous events, the FSC Power Section supplied single-use water bottles for all participants. This is now a practice that we don’t endorse or promote.
- Eliminate Plastic Straws
No plastic straws were available or used during this event.
- Serve Food with Plastic Free Dinnerware
We hosted a BBQ dinner after the Rottnest Olympics at the Army Jetty BBQ Area. All participants were asked to bring their own crockery/utensils as well as their own BBQ meat and a shared salad. We also had available 40 melamine plates that we have recently purchased for events, thus eliminating the need to purchase plastic disposable plates for this event.
- Use or Provide Reusable Bags
We had access to the FSC Marine Environment Clean-up kit for this event. All rubbish from the Rottnest Olympics were placed in the reusable sacks, and the rubbish collected from the Beachcombing was kept separately. All rubbish was returned to the FSC Sailing Club the following day and sorted and disposed of in the FSC rubbish or recycling bins. All beer and cooldrink bottles/cans were placed in the FSC Container for Change containers. The reusable sacks, gloves and vests were thoroughly washed and returned to the Harbour Master’s Office
- Award Practical Items or Use a Perpetual or Upcycled Trophy
No Perpetual or Upcycled Trophies were awarded.
Instead, Award category winners:- (Male, Female and Child) were presented with $50 vouchers donated by sponsors. Minor winners received bottles of Power-It Chilli Sauce (with funky Chilli Socks), reusable aluminium water bottles, beach towels, wine, and some beach toys for the younger children.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
·
Publicise Your Sustainability Efforts
We have posted
photos of our Beachcombing efforts on the FSC Power Section Facebook page. We present a Slide Show with the outcome with
photos and findings from the Tangaroa Blue Data Collection Statistics at our
next Power Section General Meeting on Thursday, 9th December 2021.
The Beachcombing
Group photo has been promoted by the Fremantle Sailing Club on a recent slide
show at the General Meeting.
RESPONSIBLE WASTE MANAGEMENT:-
- Organise a Green Team
The FSC Power Section Committee nominated Committee Members Heather Timms and Mike Davis as their representatives to attend the monthly FSC Marine Environmental Committee to get a better understanding of how the FSC Power Section can make changes that will be more beneficial to the environment at future FSC Power Section Events.
- Small changes have been implemented by the FSC Power Section over the last three months, since their involvement:-
- Organsied a Beach Clean Up at Thomson Bay, Rottnest as part of the Rottnest Olympics Event.
- Purchased 40 melamine plates rather than purchasing disposable plastic plates. The melamine plates have been used at two events since purchasing: FSC Power River Cruise & Rottnest Olympics.
- Purchased 40 stainless steel “shot” glasses for Bailey’s & Port for after event indulgences, rather than using disposable plastic “shot” glasses. Note: These stainless steel “shot” glasses are available for other FSC Sections to borrow.
- Use Paperless Event Management
All correspondence to FSC Power Members is made via email from the Power Captain. Only one flyer per Event is placed on the main FSC Club Notice board for members.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP:-
- Host a Beach or Marina Clean-Up
The FSC Power Section hosted a very successful Beach Clean-Up (Beachcombing) as part of our 2021 Rottnest Olympics Event held on Saturday, 20th November at the Army Jetty, Thomsons Bay, Rottnest. Over an area of 500 metres x 20 metres, a total weight of 2.379 kg of debris was collected. Even though this was a small amount of rubbish collected, it was a positive sign that our beaches are in pristine condition, with very minimal rubbish found.
FSC POWER SECTION – ROTTNEST OLYMPIC PICTURES
Report compiled by:
FSC Power Section Committee Members (Marine Environmental Committee Representatives)
Heather Timms & Mike Davis (5/12/21)