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Sakura
Embarks on a
7,000-mile Expedition


   

 

Matt Rutherford and Nicole Trenholm of Ocean Research Project recently embarked on a 7000-mile transpacific expedition from San Francisco to Japan. Their trip will be the first ever non-stop continent-to-continent marine survey

 

 

 

They are traveling aboard Sakura, the first Harbor 29 Daysailer built by W. D. Schock Corp. in Southern California. 

 

  

 

Sakura is the Japanese word for Cherry Blossom. The Japanese have revered these beautiful flowers for centuries. They have given gifts of Cherry Blossom trees to San Francisico and Washington, DC.

 

 

 

Matt and Nicole spent the days leading up to their departure outfitting and test sailing the boat.  

 

 

 

The evening before their departure, they enjoyed a steak dinner at Marin Joe'sTheir well-supplied stock of freeze-dried food will feed them throughout their voyage, but they will be looking forward to another steak dinner in Japan. 

  

    

  

   

 

Sakura passed the Golden Gate Bridge at noon local time on Friday, April 25, 2014. 

 

 

 
Sharon Guy, CLM, SD offered a heartfelt blessing to send off the expedition: "Creator God, bless this vessel, it's important mission, and Matt and Nicole. Support them, strengthen them, and bring them safely home. Amen."

 

Sakura was escorted out the Golden Gate by a group of well-wishers. Their fellow sailors softly whispered a simple 'Godspeed', matching the elegant benediction from Sharon Guy. 

   

 

  

They experienced heavy sailing coming out of San Francisco, confronted by big seas, 30-knot gusts, and driving rain. The Golden Gate is famous for its rough conditions, which served as a fair test of Sakura's handling and capabilites. 

 

  

 

Sakura bounded over the choppy waves like a greyhound. It was not long before the conditions calmed, the sun shone through the clouds, and smooth waters appeared ahead. 

 

 

    

After that first tough half day of sailing, Matt and Nicole were greeted with clear skies and perfect 10 to 20-knot winds abeam. They encountered Pacific waters with widely spaced six foot rollers helping to carry them along to Japan.

 

Sakura, Matt, and Nicole started learning each other's ways in those first hours, and they passed their first test. Together, they will cross the Pacific non-stop.

 

 

 

Sakura will spend the next 30 - 40 days in tradewinds, surfing with the wind astern.  Their course will take them about 300 miles south of Hawaii.  

 

    

 

The work of sailing a long passage is only a small part of the daily routine. Sakura's voyage is a serious scientific expedition   

 

They will be collecting sea surface samples, filming the expedition, and repeating the education process. "We're living in a changing economic envrionment; you can no longer think big boats, big crew, big budget. Instead, a non-profit should think small boat, small crew, small budget. By doing this, you not only reduce the cost of the expedition, but also the overhead."

 

 

 

Matt and Nicole begin each day of their voyage by charting their course, then preparing and deploying a trawling net that they use to collect data for their research.

 

AVANI TRAWL
AVANI TRAWL

After careful monitoring of the net throughout each day, samples are collected in bottles and cataloged for further analysis at the University of Tokyo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a working research vessel, Sakura is traveling a steady 140 statue miles per day. Matt and Nicole's progress can be tracked in real time at oceanresearchproject.org. 

 

 

 

Nicole will be presenting the research along the way to fifth graders in the Maryland  STEM programs.  

 

  

 

The TransPacific Pollution Survey is a follow-up to the North Altantic Gyre Survey of last Summer. Matt and Nicole spent 84 days collecting water samples in the Atlantic.  

 

In an interview with NPR's Neil Conan, Matt reflects on his expedition across the Atlantic. Listen to his riveting interview here.

  

Matt & Nicole have a full schedule of research ahead of them after they arrive in Japan. 

 

The next project will be a Biotelemetry fisheries study in the Chesapeake Bay sponsored by the Smithsonian.

 

They plan to go the the East Coast of Greenland in 2015 to research water quality along this seldom tracked area. 

 

Matt has also had a documentary made about his explorations that will appear in a gamut of environmental film fesitvals across the globe:

 

Red Dot on the Ocean -  Trailer
Red Dot on the Ocean - Trailer

 

The Ocean Research Project has many sponsors and benefactors:

 

 

    

 

W.D. Schock Corp. 
 951-277-3377 
23125 Temescal Canyon Rd. Corona, CA 92883
Email: info@wdschock.com     Website: http://wdschock.com