Washed Up

Where does it all come from? From tennis shoes, gold doubloons, and rubber ducks to ambergris, seedpods, and dead whales, the ocean gives up many curious prizes. In Washed Up, author Skye Moody walks the coast, dons her wet suit, and heads out to sea to understand the mysterious debris that accrues along the tide line. She finds advanced military technology applied to locating buried Rolexes, hardcore competitive beachcombing conventions, isolated beach communities, and learns about the Pacific Garbage Patch, a 200-mile swirl of current that holds everything from car parts to basketballs to kilos of heroin. Like the best walks down the beach, Washed Up pauses for shiny objects and colorful people and gives inspiration to both budding and seasoned treasure hunters.