Oscar is First Dingus (AKA First Mate) of the Melet Family Boston Whaler, Big Girl
Oscar’s sister Bea salvages an (almost) sunken (almost) treasure
Annabelle Wong, a classmate of Bea’s, takes a break with a headstand on her SUP
Last month we announced plans by Oscar Melet, a 12-year-old on Gate 6 ½, to host a waterborne bay cleanup day on January 16.
That day dawned bright and sunny, with calm waters that drew about 40 people on everything from Boston whalers to inflatables, kayaks and standup paddleboards to clean up the waters of northern Richardson’s Bay.
Oscar emceed the event with a bullhorn from the helm of his family’s Whaler, Big Girl. Together, the volunteers retrieved an impressive array: plastic bags, tarps, a tennis ball, an ice cube tray, a green crate, and even a capsized rowboat. Two ten-year-old girls from San Francisco, Olivia Bolling and Morgan Pollak, found a tea kettle, and the father and son team of Jordan and Ronan McCollum posted on Facebook that they’d recovered 37 pounds of potential bay fill. Other folks commented on how much they enjoyed meeting new floating home families.
At the end of the cleanup, the Melets shared treats from the float of their Gate 6 ½ home. Mom Nikki Melet is already looking forward to another successful cleanup event. And Oscar said, “I was very happy that a bunch of people participated, and our bay is cleaner.”