By Kurt Lieber, founder and president of Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA)

Having just gone through a very rigorous course for a 100-ton captain’s license, I gained a lot of knowledge about how a Coast Guard certified ship is run. ODA is now putting on several training sessions that will give our deck crew skills that will be invaluable should we get confronted with any potential problems while out on the water.

I put out a request to our volunteers to come on down to the boat to go through some training. Our dedicated volunteers Billy Arcila, Jeff Connor and Jim Lieber answered the call. We went over how to handle different types of fires and which extinguisher to use for each type, how to operate and communicate via the marine radio, and how to tie the knots that are most frequently used on our campaigns.

Even though the turnout was small due to the holiday weekend, we had a great time.  We all learned some very valuable skills that will make our outings safer. In fact, Jim – our onboard “master of knots” – was so enthusiastic that he kept surprising us with more and more knots to learn! 

We will have these sessions periodically. So if you want to participate in our efforts to clean the oceans of this lethal marine debris, stay tuned to our FB page for postings and come on down for one of our learning sessions. Not only will you make ODA a better and more successful organization, you’ll take away skills you can use at home or on your own boat.

For clean oceans,

Kurt

Kurt Lieber
Founder and President
Ocean Defenders Alliance

Onboard the Clearwater in dock: Jim Lieber, Kurt Lieber, and Jeff Connor celebrate Kurt’s new “Master 100 Tons” captain’s license.

Onboard the Clearwater in dock: Jeff Connor, Jim Lieber, and Billy Arcila
working on the boat.

Onboard the Clearwater in dock: Jeff Connor, Jim Lieber, and Billy Arcila learning
how to tie knots.