Sail-World.com : Plastiki arrives in Sydney in time for Sydney Boat Show
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Plastiki arrives in Sydney in time for Sydney Boat Show |
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'The 12,500 PET bottles held together across the Pacific to make it safely to Sydney.'
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The Plastiki, a boat made from 12,500 PET plastic bottles to draw attention to plastic waste in our oceans, has successfully reached Sydney after its 8,000 nautical mile journey across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco.
The voyage, the brainchild of expedition leader, David de Rothschild, has been a means to raise awareness about plastic pollution, especially in the oceans.
Skippered by British female sailor, Jo Royle, the Plastiki faced a myriad of challenges, including strong currents and keeping all the plastic parts attached, sleeping onboard - which they both described as 'like trying to fall asleep on a bucking bronco'.
On Monday 26 July, Plastiki will be greeted at the Heads by a flotilla of small craft before being towed to the Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour where she will be on public display for the next month.
Since sailing into Australian waters a week ago, expedition leader David de Rothschild and his crew of six, have been in high spirits and are looking forward to sharing their adventures and their message of 'beating waste' with the Australian public. 'We hope that Sydney-siders will turn-out in force to help us celebrate,' he said.
The Australian east coast’s notorious Tasman Sea weather slightly delayed the arrival of the Plastiki. Two storm fronts moved up through the Tasman and Jo Royle, skipper of the Plastiki, said that the sea state had not been suitable to affect a safe escorted tow to Sydney. 'We’ve sailed nearly 8,000 nautical miles without any major problems because every step of the way we’ve worked hard to minimise risk aboard this unique vessel. The crew are desperate to be in Sydney but it was unwise to tow the boat into 30 knot headwinds combined with a heavy sea state so we had to wait until the storm fronts passed,' Jo Royle said.
The adventure began for de Rothschild four years ago after reading UNEP’s report ‘Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Deep Waters and High Seas’ with a vision to create a seaworthy boat that would not only be visually engaging, with all the bottles in their original form, but would also epitomize waste being used as a valuable resource. The journey has generated opportunity for tremendous curiosity, discovery and innovation as well as a platform for discussion, debate and action.
 | This is where the crew slept, ate and battened down. - .. |
'Since arriving in Australia at Mooloolaba last Monday, the crew of the Plastiki has been truly overwhelmed by the support and good will shown towards the project and our mission to beat waste,' David de Rothschild said.
'If the last four years have taught me anything, it's that this remarkable boat, the Plastiki, has a mind and personality of her own and she has always run her own course and timetable. She’s got us 8,000 miles safely, so who am I to argue with her over when to leave for the last 400 miles. We are definitely on her watch.'
One of Plastiki’s goals and lasting legacies will be to see a significant reduction in the amount of manmade waste heading out to landfill and sea. We believe that with a small effort and some smart thinking everyone could reduce their use of single purpose plastic bottles, plastic bags and styrene foam.
It’s achievable if we work together on making small changes in our lives like the MyPlastiki pledge or remembering the 5R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink and ultimately refuse plastic waste. To make your pledge for a plastic free ocean and more positive, ecological initiatives please log on to myplastiki.com
by Adventure Ecology Share
3:02 AM Sat 24 Jul 2010 GMT
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