By Founder and President Kurt Lieber
Sometimes dreams do come true!
ODA has been doing underwater cleanups in the Hawaiian Islands since 2016. Thanks to our generous donors we’ve been fortunate to be able to charter dive boat operators to take our volunteers out to sites where we’ve removed tens of thousands of pounds of man-made debris from the spectacular coral reefs that make Hawai’i a world-renowned snorkel and dive destination.
While most of our partners we’ve chartered over the years give us reduced rates, those fees add up. And we are not able to go out whenever we want, or are needed, because we have to schedule a dive far in advance and are limited to when the boat has an opening in their schedule.
It’s always been a dream of mine to be able to afford a boat of our own. We’ve been leaning in that direction for a couple of years while we tried to raise funds and find the right boat.
It all came together in February!
At that time, I got a call from Sarah Milisen, our Hawai’i Island chapter leader based out of Kona, on the “Big Island.”
After 2 years of searching, she felt she had found the right fit for us.
The boat was built in 2007, and the owner was willing to sell it at a reduced cost because he liked what ODA does and did not want to sell his boat to someone who would use it to go kill fish. Perfect!
I quickly made arrangements to go check the boat out with Sarah, and after an hour out on the water, getting a feel for the boat, we shook hands with the owner.
We spent the next couple of months getting all the paperwork in order, obtaining boat insurance, and finding a place to store the boat.
While all that was going on, Sarah was talking with ODA volunteer John Gallagher, who has been diving with us for awhile and loves ODA’s passion and mission. He loves ODA so much that he got his son, Henry, to join in the underwater fun. He’s only 16 years old and got dive certified when he was 14!
To complete the family affair, John was telling his mother, Bonnie Gallagher, about the potential for this new boat. She liked the idea so much that she donated enough money to pay for almost half the cost of the vessel. Oh, my word!
New vessel Makau with ODA crew - Left to right: Kurt, Bonnie, John, and Sarah
Now that we officially have a boat, we wanted to have a kind of open house to have our team check it out and ask any questions they may have.
So, we sent out invitations and had about 20 people arrive on Saturday, April 11th. Amongst other regulars were the Gallaghers, all 3 of them. It was my first time meeting Bonnie, and I was stuck by how much she knew about ODA’s adventures both in California and around the Hawaiian Islands, but also about her passion for making the oceans more hospitable for all life forms.
The ODA Hawai'i crew and the Gallaghers christen the new ocean cleanup boat.
It was great showing off the boat and seeing the gleam in people’s eyes while talking about all the potential for this new addition to the ODA fleet.
Thanks to everyone who donated towards this vessel, put in hours getting the boat outfitted for the needs of our divers (shout out to Jeff Milisen, Tony White, and Juan Chacin). A very special and heartfelt thank-you to Bonnie, John, and Henry for feeling strongly enough about ODA to help us with the heavy financial lifting.
We’re looking forward to doing more removals of abandoned fishing gear, plus being able to go out on a few hours’ notice to get some of those ghost nets that are floating around all the islands. Good things are going to come of this, for years!
Your donations for fuel and supplies will help keep this boat at sea.
Give a Gift to Keep the Makau at Sea
