Over 40 Island Cruising Rally participants and cruisers joined the Vava’u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA) for a beach clean at Neiafutahi Beach, in Vava’u on 29 June.

VEPA is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the conservation of nature in Vava’u.

They were joined today by the Island Cruising Rally Director, Viki Moore and over 40 volunteers.

Viki Moore said the cruisers love to be able to do their bit to help protect the environment and give back to the communities that they visit. 

“Beach cleans is one small way we can help. We encourage rally participants to think carefully about caring for the people, places and culture and minimizing our impact wherever we can,” she said.

They filled 40 bags of trash, which included a lot of clothing, glass, plastic bottles, food wrappers, metal, a bike and more.

"We do all we can to inform and educate sailors about the fishing reserves, taking care when anchoring, careful disposal of rubbish and connecting with the communities we visit." Moore said.

"We've had a wonderful day and really enjoyed connecting with some of the locals," she told Matangi Tonga.

The Pacific Rally departs Tonga for Fiji next week on 3 July after spendingt the last six weeks cruising in the Kingdom.