Merijn Tinga sails a board from Oslo to London

At Societetshuset in Marstrand, Dutchman Merijn Tinga, 50, surfs on a windsurfing board. When the GP meets him on Thursday, he has surfed a few hours straight from Mollösund. At the same time, he is in the group for the sixth consecutive day. Coming from Norway to surf, he will surf for 26 more days.

For 32 days, he will travel from Oslo to London on a windsurf board built from the site’s debris from the sea. The reason is to draw attention to all the plastic pollution in the ocean, but he has one goal with the trip – to contribute to the introduction of a deposit system in Great Britain.

– The British government has already talked about introducing a deposit system by 2025, but I want to support the development of the law, so on July 19 I will give a letter to the Environment Minister of England, Rebecca Bowe, about why the deposit system. Very important for the environment, says Merijn Dinka.

Plastic bottles were washed

Nine years ago, Merijn Dinka saw plastic bottles washing up on her local beach in the Netherlands. A few years later, when he was in Sweden, he discovered the same thing, and then saw plastic bottles arriving from Great Britain. It led him to see what he could do to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean.

– It was only when I saw up close how much plastic is in the ocean that it became a different reality, says Merijn Dinka.

He believed the root cause of the plastic coming from Great Britain was the country’s lack of a deposit system similar to that of Sweden and the Netherlands.

Collects plastic along the way

Between June 17 and July 19, Merijn Tinga sails with breaks en route to London. In total, he will surf eight countries, and on his travels he will collect plastic along the way. Some he threw away, but he found plastic bottles labeled as coming from Great Britain, which he packed into a bag to take with him to London.

But his self-chosen mission is dangerous and while the Swedish summer can provide both sun and cool breezes, it can also provide storms and rain.

Merijn Tinga tries to stay on the coast and surf two to three hours a year, but even so, he occasionally has to cross the open sea during his travels.

– Windsurfing tires your arms and legs, requiring more strength and power when you surf. You see the water hitting the rocks and stones and I have to hold on so I don’t fall off the board.

Depending on the weather and how the wind is moving, he surfs at different speeds, but it is not unusual for him to reach 40 kilometers per hour, although 30 kilometers per hour is more common.

He drinks water from a water hose he keeps around the suit and calls the food he eats “space food” because it’s not real food, but nutrition packaged in pouches.

You surf for 32 days, and how many changes of clothes do you have with you?

– No, what I’m wearing. I try to shower when I shower in a camp facility, otherwise I wear this, says Merijn Dinka.

He usually sleeps outside or in a tent. Otherwise, he uses a windsurfing board as a bed and a windproof roof while sleeping.

Packing for travel is otherwise stingy. In addition to “food” and various small gadgets, he carries a mobile phone, a GPS, a compass and sunscreen.

Merijn Dinga’s next stop, he doesn’t know exactly where he’s sleeping tonight. But he must continue south if he is to reach London in time.

– It will be very windy tomorrow, I have to go towards Denmark. So I’m going to surf for a few more hours today so I’ll get there.

He reached Copenhagen on Tuesday.

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