11,000 miles is a long way to sail. Our Wend Ambassador Liz Clark knows that well. But what about sailing those 11,000 miles on nothing but recycled plastic?
In April, adventurer and environmentalists David De Rothschild will be taking on the waves of the great Pacific Ocean as he attempts to sail from California to Australia in a one-of-a-kind boat made from recycled plastic bottles. Except for the masts, which are metal, the whole catamaran is constructed from plastic bottles, an item that’s the ultimate symbol of global waste.
Scheduled to sail in April, the boat is named Plastiki, and on its way is expected to stop in Hawaii, Tuvalu and Fiji on its way to Sydney, a trip which will take more than 100 days. Although a “plastic bottle boat” can easily bring to mind images of beaten bottles tied together with twine in the ultimate of DIY boating, the Plastiki is a work of art. The twin hulls will be filled with 12,000 to 16,000 bottles, the hull and cabin will be covered in a water-tight recycled PET fabric, and the boat will even carry two wind turbines and an array of solar panels. In fact, only about 10% of the boat is made from new materials.
“This actually is the same material that is made out of bottles,” said de Rothschild to CNN. “We actually wrap the PET fabric over the PET foam and then basically put it under a vacuum, heat it, press it and create these long PET panels. So that means the boat is, technically, one giant bottle.”
To learn more about De Rothschild and Plastiki, as well as follow the expedition once it begins, check out Adventure Ecology, his environmental organization.
When will Plastiki sail to San Diego? or has that trip been abandoned?