He had the feeling that he was surfing on plastic soup - hence the name Plastic Soup Surfer. In addition to his general endeavour to draw attention to the pollution of the oceans by plastic waste, the background to this campaign is that the UK does not yet have a deposit system. There are plans to introduce one in 2025, but so far there is not even a draft text for the law. On his arrival in London, he handed over the board and a letter with a list of signatures to Rebecca Pow, Secretary of State for Environmental Quality and Resilience. The news channel BBC News was also on site when he arrived. The windsurfing activist describes the campaign as a complete success.
"It's easier to windsurf through Europe than to drive through it in an electric car," jokes Merijn when I pick him up on his return journey from London to the Netherlands. "OK, I've found a suitable charging station, we're stationary, now I've got twenty minutes."
Well then, let's get going. At the moment, we are particularly interested in the windsurfing challenges that his expedition entailed.
Merijn, you've surfed 1800 kilometres in the last 32 days. How exhausted are you?
It's still within limits, I have to say. You get stronger and stronger as you go along. I was at my most exhausted during the first week. After three-hour stages, my hands were particularly sore at the beginning. That got better and better over time.
How did you prepare physically for the expedition?
I trained as much as possible. On the water and on land. But I had all sorts of other projects to do in the weeks beforehand and ultimately wasn't able to train as much as I had planned. But apparently it was enough - I fought my way through, arrived safely and the mission was accomplished.
You've already completed long tours on a SUP or kite. Why did you choose windsurfing this time?
I've been windsurfing for 32 years, I started when I was eight. We lived on Curacao at the time. Later, I studied biology near The Hague. In Leiden, right on the coast, so that I could continue to get out on the water as often as possible. Windsurfing is the mother of all wind sports on the water and so much cooler than all the new variants. It's the foundation, and for me it's still number one. The power on the water feels so much more direct than kitefoiling, for example. I love it. That's why I'm windsurfing.
How big was your sail? And how did you cope with it in the prevailing conditions?
I had an 8.6 Severne Turbo on it - so it was pretty big. I was lucky overall with the Conditions. Especially at the beginning of the trip, I had some great days where everything was perfect. Surfing down the Swedish coast from Oslo was an absolute windsurfing dream. Once, for example, I cruised 130 kilometres along the coast at 25-30 km/h through large wave valleys. That was unique! The further south I travelled, the more difficult it became. Due to strong winds from the main wind direction south-west and a lot of current, it became much more challenging towards the end of the expedition on the North Sea. In principle, it would have been easier to surf with the south-westerly wind the other way round, from London to Oslo (laughs). But that wasn't the aim of the mission. When I wanted to cross the English Channel last weekend to get to London and meet my deadline there, the conditions unfortunately didn't allow it.
It is rare for the south-westerly wind on the North Sea to reach up to forty knots in the summer months. The destination was in sight, but I had to take the ferry.
You surfed on a windsurf board made from recycled plastic waste...
Yes, I was very lucky to work with shaper Ron van den Berg. We used the shape of the famous Van den Berg raceboard as a basis and adapted it for the expedition. The core is made from recycled polystyrene boards, the sandwich from natural flax fibres. It was laminated with the most environmentally friendly epoxy resin we could find. At the front of the deck, we incorporated discarded plastic bottles that we collected from the Thames in London and attached them with mushroom fibres. In two minutes, we had collected sixty plastic bottles on the Thames.
But back to the board: it weighs 24kg, is 3.70 metres long and 37 centimetres wide. The V-shape in the underwater hull makes it very stable. A great board, it's beautiful. Ron van den Berg is a mastershaper, you can see that in every detail of the board.
Starboard supported us with parts such as the mast track, centreboard and footstraps.
Did you have dinghies or cars to accompany you? Or were you completely on your own?
No, most of the time I was travelling solo. My team dropped me off in Oslo and only accompanied me for the first few days, when I still had to finalise a few details, such as what I would ultimately carry with me and what was superfluous.
Where and how did you spend the night?
Most nights I slept in my sleeping bag, on the beach, under my sail.
How did the people you met along the way react?
Surprised (laughs). People had great respect for the fact that I made it to their home beach or the harbour of their town alone, using only wind power and a sail. They welcomed me with open arms, opened their guest rooms and kitchens to me. It was heart-warming.
Did windsurfing adventurers like Jono Dunnet, who has already windsurfed around Great Britain or 15,000 kilometres around Europe, inspire you to embark on the expedition?
Definitely, yes. Dunnet is a great inspiration for me. We were in contact a lot, not only before my expedition, but we also exchanged ideas during it. He helped me a lot and always gave me valuable tips.
Would you surf a tour like this again?
Yes, because not only was the entire campaign a success, but it was of course also a fantastic adventure and sense of achievement for me personally. I'm glad that everything worked out so well and that I didn't drown (laughs). I'm still pretty blown away, I have to say. It's very possible that I'll take on another similar mission in the future.
You can find out more about the tour and other expeditions at plasticsoupsurfer.org .
You can follow Merijn's expeditions on Instagram at @plasticsoupsurfer track.
