They made it! The Plastiki, a catamaran constructed from 12,500 recycled plastic bottles, slid past Sydney Opera House on Monday, four months after leaving San Francisco on a voyage across the Pacific. The awareness-raising mission was led by SHFT compadre and eco-adventurer David de Rothschild.
Powered by solar panels and windmills, the Plastiki is held together by an organic glue made of sugar cane and cashews. The mast, a recycled irrigation pipe, nearly snapped in a fierce storm off the Australian coast.
As the boat neared port, Plastiki tweets captured the crew's jubilant mood. “Overwhelmed! Wow! Need to breathe. Wow! Wow! Wow!†read one. Another repeated “We made it!†a dozen times over.
After over 8,000 nautical miles at sea in a boat made of plastic bottles, the crew had every right to be fired up. We are too. Congrats to all involved!
For more on the project, check out "What is the Plastiki?"
(Via Green Blog, New York Times)
Photo: Agence France-Presse — Getty Images