Plastic boat sets sail
Posted on March 24th 2010
A catamaran made from 12,000 plastic bottles has set sail on its 11,000 nautical mile journey from San Francisco to Sydney. The voyage is to help raise awareness about the problem the world faces with pollution to its oceans. During the boats travels it will pass the aptly named Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a patch of waste measuring five times the size of the UK.
The leader of the five man crew, Dr Rothschild will be keeping followers from around the world updated with his twitter page. Just a few hours after leaving he had already updated his page saying; "Travelling 2.0 Knots ummm! That's a lot of ocean ahead!" he added "Just saw our first bit marine debris - a plastic cup!"
The boat itself is completely green as it kept afloat by 12,000 carbon dioxide filled plastic bottles. The vessel is powered by wind, solar and sea turbines, which may not be as powerful as two jet engines but they are more cost efficient and a whole lot better for the environment. The crew must spend a few minutes peddling on an exercise bike if they want to use their laptops. They also use a composting toilet and they have their very own garden where they can grow food.
The journey is expected to take around three months and throughout their travels they will keep the world updated with their twitter feeds.
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