Jon T. Howard - North Atlantic Gyre Blog #12

Well this is my last Blog before I depart for the US Virgin Islands tomorrow morning. My flight out of LAX leaves at 6 am which means I have to get to the airport around 4 am due to the recent increase of extra security measures. I head to Miami and then catch a flight to the Virgin Islands. The last few days have been a real whirlwind to say the least. Between doctors, getting equipment, a new super short haircut and a ton of laundry I have been very busy. Most of it has been exciting but unfortunately my bulldog Sassy who was a few months shy of 14 had to be put to sleep yesterday. She had been suffering with a bunch of ailments over the last year and had really taken a turn for the worst in December. After consulting with her vet we all felt like it was time because her quality of life had deteriorated so bad and there wasn't anything the vet could do to help her anymore. RIP Sassy... you were an amazingly gentle, loving animal and a true friend for over 13 years and will truly be missed. It was hard to get back on track after yesterday's loss but I spent today hanging with my son, watching some football and picking up a few last minute items like DVC tapes, an extra set of Martin guitar strings and some snacks. I also put together a complete list of clothes and gear I am taking which I will post during my layover in Miami. Here are a few essentials - I am bringing 2 video cameras(1 HD) and my new Flip HD. Thank you Witz Cases for the helping me protect all my electronics. Besides that I am bringing an old fashion underwater film camera and a digital camera. Should inspiration strike, I am bringing my Little Martin LXM guitar to play and write songs on while I am out in the big blue ocean. I also have a huge variety of music on my iPod shuffles and Zune. They recommended bringing DVD's so I packed season 2&3 of Curb Your Enthusiasm plus some live music DVD's of Dave Mathews, Bob Marley, and Bluesman John Hammond. I have some great dark chocolate from Trader Joes and a mixed variety of Guayaki Yerba Matte, Starbucks Via ready brew and Yogi Teas (my favorite is Classic Indian Spice). Other than all of that I want to thank Joey Mendelsohn, the CEO of EcoUsable for making all of this possible and seeing the importance of this voyage. I also want to thank Body Glove, Hybrid Lights, and Witz Cases for their generous support of me on this mission. Godspeed...

Jon T. Howard - North Atlantic Gyre Blog #11

Happy New Year!!! Just a few days until I fly to St. Thomas US Virgin Islands. I will fly out of Los Angeles early Monday and arrive in St. Thomas late on Monday after stopping in Miami. The crew will do some acclimation and emergency training for a day or two then head out on our voyage to the North Atlantic Gyre. Since I last blogged I have continued to be very busy getting everything in order for the trip. I headed to Best Buy on Tuesday and picked up a small laptop to use for blogging on the boat. I also stopped by Verizon to get the low down on international emailing, texting and tethering using my Blackberry with the laptop. It is outrageously expensive so I have to keep all updates short and sweet. Besides that I picked up a few writing journals and the book "Fast Food Nation" from Borders Books. I spent most of Wednesday at my Chiropractor Dr. Michael Lau's office getting some adjustments and treatments to my back and then I headed to UCLA medical offices in Santa Monica for a full exam by Dr. Jeffrey Goldsmith and to get prescription for some sea sick medicine patches called Scopolamine. Lastly on Wednesday I dropped by Dive and Surf in Hermosa Beach and picked up the Body Glove snorkel, fins, and mask that Body Glove's VP generously donated for the trip. Thank you Billy. Hopefully I will get a wetsuit tomorrow to help deal with the conditions in the Atlantic and other than that I am pretty sure I have everything I will need. As I start packing I am compiling a complete equipment list that I will post before I leave. One last thing check out www.5Gyres.org so you can get an idea of the mission of the voyage and see everyone who is involved.

Jon T. Howard - North Atlantic Gyre Blog #10

Well it's the home stretch until all systems go... Spent this past weekend checking out more gear at Patagonia and REI. I picked up some real essential stuff to keep things as dry as possible. I got a 25 Liter Outdoor Research Dry Sack and a XX-Large REI Duffle Bag along with a few smaller dry sacks. Everyone is being so supportive and informative once I tell them about the research expedition. They ask a a ton of questions and most are really interested in following the voyage . Besides dealing with all the gear I've been working on getting my fitness to the highest level so I hit the pool again for another 1/2 mile swim on Sunday after cycling and running on Saturday. On Sunday evening I got together with some friends in the "green world" of Los Angeles for a farewell dinner for Trevor Martin and Jenn Breckenridge who are heading to San Francisco in January to live and work. Both have been involved in most every event or festival I have been apart of over the last 3 years. I am sure they will rock in San Francisco but we will miss them here in LA. I also had the pleasure of sharing some great conversation with Karen Solomon from Opportunity Green. She said she will definitely be following our progress and get the word out through her network as much as possible. Being one of the leaders of green movement she also knows and has worked with Marcus Eriksen and Anna Cummins from Algalita.org and 5Gyres.org so I am happy to have her on board with her support. One last thing, a special thank you to Jenn Breckenridge for telling me about www.Stumbleupon.com. She is a social network guru and I really appreciate the tips she shared with me last night. Until next time...

Jon T. Howard - North Atlantic Gyre Blog #9

First of all I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. It's a beautiful day in Los Angeles. The kind that makes so many people move from everywhere else in the world to here to call it home. One day soon I hope to spend another Christmas with my Mom and brothers in Dallas because it always means an amazing feast cooked by my Mom. I have been in Los Angeles for 20 years now and it's been way too long since I have been home to celebrate the holidays with my family. I will put that on my list of high priorities for next year. Speaking of next year, the New Year is right around the corner and the days are passing by at the speed of the blink of an eye. I will spend the next 10 days getting together the rest of the gear I need so I am ready for whatever conditions we encounter. I have been told that I need some heavy duty rain gear like the fisherman use because staying dry is the key along with layers to stay warm. Next week I will head down to San Pedro to check out some of the gear they have down there because with the Port of Los Angeles being there they will have anything I will possibly need. I may also go out on an all night fishing boat I've been invited to tag along on just to get a feel for what to expect. Since all the stores are closed today I'm just going to take it easy and relax and watch the Lakers' game against Cleveland. Other than that I am planning on going for a run a little later to work off some of the many cookies I've eaten.

Jon T. Howard - North Atlantic Gyre Blog #7

Well it's the beginning of a new week and just over 2 weeks until I leave for St. Thomas US Virgin Islands. I pretty much took the day off yesterday and spent it baking Christmas cookies and making fudge with my 12 year old son Christopher. We started our baking tradition last year using my family's recipes and it really is a great thing for us to do together. Besides the big mess we made in the kitchen, we ended up making 5 different types of cookies and tasty treats that we will give out as gifts to friends and family. The sugar cookies (150 year old special recipe) and fudge are usually every one's favorites and if they taste as good as all the cookie dough and batter we ate while baking them, I'm sure people will love them. I did take a short break in between preparation and baking to go back to Sports Authority to pick up a few more things for the trip. I got a water proof The North Face Wind Jacket and a heavier fleece all purpose The North Face Jacket. I also picked up some water proof outerwear pants in case we need to work in the rain. Because of all the gear I bought on Friday combined with the new stuff, I qualified for a $200 gift card. When it was all said and done, I ended up getting the heavier all purpose The North Face Jacket and the water proof pants for free which was a real bonus. Thank you to the manager at the Sports Authority in Lawndale, CA for making that happen. I really appreciate it. I still need to get some snorkeling gear and fins so that will be next on my list to find. It's great to be feeling better and yesterday I was able to run 3 miles in the evening and I am planning on getting to the gym for a long swim later today. That's about all for now...

Jon T. Howard - North Atlantic Gyre Blog #6

I feel like I am playing catch up after missing most of the week due to illness but luckily I have some very productive last few days. My priorities have been to continue to reach out to possible sponsors and gathering my gear for the trip. I still need to figure out my return flight from the trip too. I will either need to get a hopper flight from Bermuda back to St. Thomas or I will need to book a one way from Bermuda. Either way it will probably work out to be about the same if I had booked one ways to and from each destination. On the gear front I am excited to have Hybrid Lights "Solar Lite" along for the voyage. They have offered to give all the crew one of their super cool, water proof solar flashlights. I used a smaller version camping over the summer and they are great. They hold a charge for up to 3 years and are super bright. Thank you Linda Aguas for making that happen. I also went to Sports Authority to get some basic gear since so much is on sale for the holidays. One thing I am focused on is making sure I am as comfortable as possible on the trip regardless of conditions. We have been told to expect every kind of weather so warmth is key. I picked up some Pepper long johns, a Columbia fleece jacket, a pair of fleece pants, an Asics Thermopolis long sleeve shirt, a couple of The North Face beanies, 2 pair of thick WigWam socks and 3 different type of gloves for various conditions. It's a start and over the next week I will gather a few more things especially socks. I also picked up a small Martin Guitar for the trip. I was leaning towards taking a Ukelele but I gave into a guitar. I didn't want to take any of my expensive guitars that I use for recording or touring so I got the Martin. I have wanted one for a while and since I had a $50 off coupon at Guitar Center and it was on sale I couldn't pass it up. So that means I will be making music on the high seas and I hope I am inspired to write some new songs too. Stay tuned......

Jon T. Howard - North Atlantic Gyre Blog #3

It has been a productive day so far today because I have been at an event connecting with many of my friends and business associates in the green world of LA. I had a chance to meet with Linda Aguas from Hybrid Light and I spoke to her about getting some of their great Solar Lights for the trip. Also I met the owner of Bambu Dru who makes very cool organic clothes made of bamboo and hemp that I hope to get a few T-shirts from for the trip. Everyone I have told about the expedition are very excited and curious and are offering their support in every way they are able. I may even have some great organic dark chocolate to take along if I am lucky. Hopefully the momentum will continue to build and others will step forward to lend their support either with product or small cash contributions to help pay for flights and hotels. I reached out to Apple Inc. yesterday and I hope they will join the journey too. Anyway that's about all today on this very wet day in Los Angeles.

Planning and making arrangements

This is the first in a series of blogs that I will be doing leading up to and during my trip with Dr. Marcus Eriken and Anna Cummins of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation to explore the North Atlantic Gyre. I feel honored to be asked and I am very grateful that EcoUsable Inc. has given me this great opportunity to go on a once in a lifetime journey. Algalita is one of the worlds foremost researchers of the North Pacific Gyre and now are on a quest to research the 4 other gyres known in the world. So into the great unknown we go.... I will be joining a crew of 14 that includes researchers from AMRF and Pangaea aboard the Sea Dragon, Pangaea's 72 foot research vessel as we set sail from St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands to Bermuda on an 11 day voyage of exploration. We will be examining the role plastic pollution plays in transporting Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the marine environment. I have so much to do and thankfully I recently updated my passport. I have a list of essential things I need and I am looking for clothing & equipment sponsors to join me on the trip. I will post a list of necessities in the next few days....