One of the star attractions of the upcoming Maritime Festival has sailed into Steveston.
The festival may be more than two weeks away, but research vessel and tall ship Kaisei arrived on Tuesday.
The ship has been patrolling the North Pacific for several weeks, conducting research involving tracking the debris float resulting from last years Japanese tsunami, as well as debris from the North Pacific gyre, often referred to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area of ocean with extraordinarily high concentrations of floating plastic debris and other man-made litter and pollutants.
The findings of their latest research will be presented during the Kaiseis three-week visit to take part in the 9th Annual Richmond Maritime Festival from Aug. 10 to 12.
During the festival, the public will be able to board the Kaisei and learn firsthand about her important environmental mission.
A series of public question-and-answer talks will also be led by Project Kaisei staff and scientists and there will be video screenings highlighting the projects latest research.
A 46-metre (151-feet) brigantine, the Kaisei is part of an international program dedicated to raising awareness and implementing solutions to the problem of marine debris.
She is the figurehead and primary research vessel for Project Kaisei, a group formed in 2008 to find solutions to the global issue of proliferation of plastic and marine debris into the ocean.
