TAMPA, Fla. — We’re just days away from Gasparilla, where hundreds of thousands of people will fill the streets and the water, tossing beads into the crowds.
Rebecca Schwartz is no stranger to the event.
"It's just kind of like a, like a big party in Tampa," said the Tampa native.
As pirates invade the city, the most coveted pirate's booty are the beads. A staple any Gasparilla goers expect to don and collect. But what about the ones that don't make it into the hands of people having fun?
"I have thought about like how much litter there is like on Bayshore afterward because it's just like ridiculous. But I've never really thought about the water," said Schwartz.
But the thought isn't foreign for Tampa Police divers. With help from other agencies, expect about 60 to 70 law enforcement vessels on the water throughout the day. As for those coveted beads, it's not recommended to toss them from the boat.
"We know what's going to happen as part of Gasparilla, as part of the pirate and the Marauder type thing. But we do discourage this type of behavior to happen. It kind of falls under littering, if you will. We're obviously very tolerant of it, we'll provide some education and if it leads to some sort of enforcement then we'll have to do that," said Officer Christopher Audet, a diver with TPD.
Even still, the day after Gasparilla is just as busy for the dive team.
"The cleanup after Gasparilla is definitely an all-day period," he explained. "Obviously, we will be on the water. So we'll have first-hand knowledge as to where the majority of the bead throwing is going on. Again, it's going to be over there near TGH. And also a Tampa Convention Center to include a little bit north of Platte Street."
Time is of the essence to Officer Audet as those beads sink to the bottom.
"We know that beads are plastic, there is sort of a decomposition period that takes place over a long, long course of time," he said.
What those divers uncover makes them the clear winner of the pirate treasure hunt.
"I would love to know the poundage on the amount of beads that comes up," he said. "It's gonna be in the hundreds of pounds for sure."
A full day bringing up bead, after bead, after bead. The task isn't as simple as you may think.
"When it gets to be about 10 to 12 feet or so, the visibility is completely black. So after about three to four feet, it's all just hand and feel type thing. And you're coming up with beads, including some other debris that is washed in or was thrown into the river," he said.
Despite all of the work to clean up after Gaspirilla, they can't grab every bead. Throughout the year, as TPD divers work, they run into those Gasparilla reminders.
"Sometimes a fun little game of ours that we play, we will grab the beads and whoever comes up with the most beads on their head, kind of wins lunch or whatever."
Many of those beads are older than you can imagine.
"For the past, obviously, 100 years this has been going on. There's been a large accumulation of beads that are out in the bay. We on the dive team, whenever we're down there searching for any sort of vehicle evidence, rescue of body, anything of that any sort of recovery, we often find Gasparilla beads that are still down there," he added.
Schwartz said even though she never thought of it before, she's glad to know there are people out there protecting our waterways during Gasparilla.
"I think if we're gonna turn you know, the whole city into like a big party for the day or the weekend that we definitely be responsible for an after, so it's good that, you know, local police and other organizations are realizing that," she said.
