So, June has finally arrived. (The photo above is the last sunset of May… not bad.) On my calendar at the beginning of the year, I highlighted the months of June and July as being the most ambitious of 2018, with a variety of diverse and challenging programs to get in line.

I have the display items together for the booth at this year’s inaugural Ocean Fest, coming up in another week. It’s going to be a fun mix of displays and activities down at the Foss Seaport and I hope to see a lot of people coming by to sign their names on the Basura del Mar, adding their voices to the rising call for a more sensible social policy when it comes to plastic use and disposal.

Then, the next day, the Seventy48 race begins (at 5:30pm), and I’m going to be trying to pilot and cajole the Basura 70 miles from Tacoma to Port Townsend. There are over 120 other teams in the race and, if I am able to finish in the allotted 48 hours, I fully expect to be at the back of the pack at the end. Because I am literally paddling a pile of garbage, right? I better not beat anybody, I think.

Then, the week after that, it’s trip leader training for Camp Seymour, a 3-day South Sound program that is always a lot of fun each year, and I’m looking forward to another installment. Still, it’s a tiring pace, and there have been a few other training aspects added for this year’s group that will be new, so there’s more work still to be done to get all that together.

And, behind it all, is the preparation process for the South Kuiu Cleanup. Food to purchase, supplies to ship by barge to Wrangell about two weeks before it all starts, gear to collect, a kayak to fix (plastic welding, anyone?), and a host of other must-do items that are keeping me awake at night.

I will sleep in August. Perhaps.