Saturday, the Blackwater Pyrates held their first of two annual river cleanup events. This lower-river mission yielded 1,500 lbs of trash, according to Blackwater Pyrates event captain, Doug “Rumfront” Lasater. He said 48 participants using eight boats did the dirty job from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cleanup, a history lecture afterwards, and a boat rescue touched on the three-pronged Blackwater Pyrates’ mission of river cleanup, maritime history preservation, and boater safety.
An extreme high tide this year coupled with threatening weather hampered the effort, according to Lasater. Last year, the Pyrates collected 3,500 lbs of trash during the same cleanup, though Lasater said circumstances were reversed with an unusually low tide. In those conditions, he said they pulled tires and trash from the 1930s and 40s. “It’s just luck of the draw,” he said, regarding what conditions will be when they plan the cleanup.
“We only (pulled) four tires this year,” Lasater said. “A lot of trash was left by people camping along the river, especially by I-10. We were disappointed in that. We don’t mind picking up the trash, but it’s sad that people ten to just leave trash along the river. I hope through the years people (will) be more responsible for their own things. I think education is part of it.”
Tracy “Bling” Johnson said last year was her first river cleanup event with the Blackwater Pyrates, and remembered pulling seven tires at the time. “It makes me proud to be a Pyrate.”
Lasater said Dr. Richard Lewis’ lecture on ship building in Bagdad rounded out the planned events for the day, but the storm, he said, gave the Pyrates an unexpected task. “A sailboat was stranded in Blackwater Bay,” he said. He described it as an 18 foot, cabin-class sailboat. “It washed up at Catfish Basin, south of the Yellow River entrances. We went out in pontoons and floated it for them.” Lasater said a couple out sailing got caught in the storm and could only ride out the storm. “They were high and dry. We were able to pull them out without damaging the boat or the grass bed. There was not another boat in the bay of course.”
Lasater cautioned other boaters about storms. “One of the issues we have in the south is the speed at which a storm can move across the bay. It’s better to err on the side of caution.” He suggested boaters follow storm systems using smart phone apps or other technology they have. “There can be deadly storm systems,” he said. As a volunteer organization, Lasater said the Pyrates certainly can’t take the place of the water patrol but said, “Any time a boater sees a boat on the bay with a Blackwater Pyrate flag, they will certainly try to assist you.”
Lasater thanked Santa Rosa County for providing a dumpster for the first time to collect all of the garbage the Pyrates pull. Their next cleanup, he said, will cover the upper river by way of smaller boats and canoes this summer.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pyrates collect trash, wayward sailboat