Our divers had a great day on Saturday at our annual Underwater Clean Up at Petone Wharf, Wellington, NZ. The sun was shining and the water was still in double figures - only just at 10 degrees! One of my Dive Master trainees helped to organise the event & briefed the 15 divers and 6 other volunteers who attended the event.

Our volunteers collected rubbish along the beach & carpark - this was mostly food & drink related items plus over 130 cigarette buts collected in less than 100m by the crossing.

The volunteers also spent time on the wharf helping collect various items & catch bags from the divers by lowering ropes down to the divers who had practiced their bowlines to secure the loads.

The final tally showed that our divers had collected over 250 items weighing 75kg. The biggest items collected were deck chairs used by fishermen along the wharf. The most common items were also related to fishing including knifes, gloves, bait containers and fishing line.

We also collected a number of items that may be related to Hindu festivals including statues & bowls. We were pleased to find very few bottles or plastic bags underwater.

Another successful event left our divers & volunteers feeling satisfied that they had done a great job and had earnt their chocolate fish!