Shereen Ali
Published:
Monday, June 15, 2015
Kayaks arrowed up the Chaguaramas coastline early on a Saturday morning as paddlers gathered to be part of Paddle for the Planet on June 6 from The Kayak Centre.
The T&T Paddle for the Planet started at 8.50 in the morning, and included about 50 participants, from novice recreational paddlers to more seasoned competitive kayakers, paddling in a variety of kayaks from sturdy sit-on-top plastic models to long, streamlined kayaks of wood or fibreglass.
Internationally, Paddle for the Planet (P4P) is a not-for-profit organisation that raises awareness of, and funding for, river and ocean environmental issues. Wayne Randall started the event in Dubai in 2011, along with co-founders Nick Hando and Scott Clephane, according to the website www.paddlefortheplanet.org.
It began as a mainly ocean-paddling initiative, but quickly gathered support to embrace conservation of all waterways, from rivers and seas to canals, dams and estuaries. It has also grown to include all kinds of paddlers and water folk interested in healthy river and sea life.
The P4P’s signature event is a global paddling relay, timed to follow World Environment Day. The relay runs with simultaneous paddling events starting on the same day, at the same time, in every time zone, in each participating country around the world.
This year, at least 52 countries were said to be participating. Strongly driven by the global surfski community, the 2015 Paddle For The Planet global hubs included California (USA), Fish Hoek and Durban (South Africa), Sydney (Australia), Dubai and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), and Cebu, Manila and Boracay (Philippines).
P4P in T&T
Whereas globally, Paddle for the Planet takes the form of fund-raising paddle relays, here in T&T, so far, it is more of an open-ended, unstructured way of celebrating recreational paddling and the sea, until such time as an organised riverine or marine fund-raising project is developed. Many of the kayakers at last Saturday’s event showed their moral support for sea environmental issues while enjoying a healthy, fun paddle close to nature.
“We saw all skill levels, from novices to more experienced paddlers, including some of our young athletes in training,” said Merryl See Tai of The Kayak Centre about last Saturday’s informal paddle: “It was a fun day for everyone!”
But the reality of environmental concern was very evident last Saturday as at least one T&T paddler, Michel Boccara, returned from his trip grim-faced, with his canoe full of random floating garbage he’d scooped up from the sea’s surface along the Chaguaramas sea coast.
“You’d better include that in the story!” urged his fellow paddler Sarah Bharath. Unfortunately, especially in the rainy season, it is not uncommon to see streams of floating garbage in all of the rivers which flow into the Gulf of Paria.
“It would be so much easier and more efficient to collect that garbage before it flows into the Gulf rather than having collection events to pick it up from the various beaches where it washes ashore afterwards,” said one kayaker.
“When will Trinis understand the consequences of throwing garbage into the streets and drains everywhere?” Much Diego Martin waste ends up in the sea—including large numbers of plastic bottles.
Oil spills from old wrecks and abandoned vessels in the Gulf were other problems mentioned by paddlers.
“As a paddler, my main concern is with marine pollution,” said Jahson Alemu, who is a marine biologist and a participant at Paddle for the Planet.
“T&T is such a small place, and even if you live far inland and have never seen the ocean, your actions can impact coastal life. Nowhere is this better seen than in the Chaguaramas area. Outflow from the Caroni river (and nearby rivers) circulates within the Gulf, and temporarily concentrates floating debris. Floating mats of plastics, glassware, styrofoam and other unwanted material are common obstacles and a recurring problem.”
lifestyle
Back from an invigorating early morning session, Paddle for the Planet participants gather, their paddles up, at The Kayak Centre in Chaguaramas on June 6. At front, crouching, second from right, is Merryl See Tai, president of the T&T Canoe/Kayak Federation. PHOTO: JEFF MAYERS