Article and Photos by Tyler Hustrulid

Spring is definitely on it’s way to Wilmington! As the water warms up, more people are drawing their paddles out of the corner of the garage and heading back out on the water. This was obvious at our March outing. We are pleased to report that the number of SUP Cleanup participants has steadily increased with each event, which means more hands to help remove trash from our local shores.
On the morning of Saturday the 20th, Wrightsville Sound was cool and glassy off the beach behind the Blockade Runner Resort, our rendezvous. Paddles sliced cleanly through the water’s surface, which made for a quick trip to the nearby spoil islands. It was a superb day for younger and new paddlers to get outside and practice their sweep or try standup paddleboarding for the first time.
Weeks ago, we had spied a pile of old abandoned crab traps and even a rusted-out bicycle laid-up on one of the smaller spoil islands. We thought that was a good enough indicator of a place to start the day’s efforts and it wasn’t long before trash bags were filled, tied-up, and brought to our support boat to be hauled back to shore for proper disposal.
Perhaps one of the best parts of waking up early to spend time around these small islands is being able to observe the local flora and fauna that call them home. With the season’s change now rapidly underway, we noticed how the bushes and shrubs had grown small green buds, still waiting to unfold, and how the grasses didn’t crunch so much under our feet. Unfortunately, the bugs, while not yet a terrible nuisance, are also beginning to emerge. A pair of swans flew overhead and circled back low for a closer look at us before gliding onwards to another landing spot. On this day, a single Canada goose was making a fuss at our arrival, squawking and flapping about. We found out why when a perfect little nest of goose eggs was discovered tucked into a thick clump of grass. Everyone crept over carefully to take a look at the mother goose’s pride she was protecting before hopping back on our boards.
It was so nice to be outside and on the water that the group decided to continue on to another island. On the second island, so much trash was accumulated in so little time that we had to stop and call for a second boat to assist us in hauling our collection back to shore. All told, we gathered enough litter to fill dozens of heavy trash bags, tied-up tight, and several large objects like Styrofoam blocks, metal pipes and wire panels, plus, one generously used bicycle.

View all of the images from this cleanup by clicking: HERE