Hello!!! We are the Swains.

Hi, we are the Swains and we are going on a journey.
We are taking our 47 foot sailboat, Flying Fish, out of it's home port, Wellfleet harbor, down the intercoastal waterway to Florida and the Bahamas.

We are a family of five.

   

Our Mom is Sarah Swain, a super cool awesome musician who has her own band.

Dad is Steve Swain, a metal sculptor and an ocean enthusiast.

The little one is Stanley, a four year old, who dreams to be a ocean explorer.

The middle child is Jessie, a ten year old, who wants to be a baker, marine biologist, and a shark hugger.

And last but not least is me, Lucy, a 12 year old who has big plans of becoming a ocean activist and marine biologist. 

Our family has always been interested in the ocean but we never thought that our whole lives would revolve around it. I thought that sharks were scary and did not have the least amount of interest in them. All of this changed when our dad signed us up for Gills Club, an education initiative working to get girls interested in sharks, without us knowing, and made us go. After the first meeting we were so exited about sharks and the ocean and we wished that we could go to Gills Club every day. All we wanted to do was learn more and more about the fascinating creatures sharks are.

As soon as we heard about the horrible things happening to the ocean and all the things that live in it we knew we need to help. We partnered up with a company called 5 Gyres that studies ocean plastics. We will be taking samples and collecting data for them on our trip. Here are a few ways you can help reduce the amount of ocean plastics.: 1. Use less plastic 2. Anytime you are at the beach pick up trash and make sure it get disposed of properly 3. Make sure all the trash is making it into the trash can. 

Here are some photos of some things that we have done that have to do with the ocean and our trip.

Jessie and I with a conch shell we found while sailing around the British Virgin Islands.

Me sailing my family's catboat around Long Pond in Harwich.

Our friend Ceci, Jessie and I with our lemonade stand to benefit Wildcare.

Our friend Phebe, Jessie and I at one of our first Gills club meetings. 

Jessie and I with famous ocean explorer, Bob Ballard.

Me snorkeling on our trip to the Bahamas, looking for the turtles we had seen earlier.

Famous oceanographer Sylvia Earle holding up some of our dad's  fish after we had seen her speak at Harvard.

Jessie and I with the shark that washed up on the beach, before the necropsy.

Jessie, Marianne, and I watching the necropsy on the shark.

Jessie and I with Brian Skerry, famous National Geographic  underwater photographer.

We are so exited for our trip and the opportunities that will come along with it!!! 

Thanks for reading :)