 Plastiki on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum following her Pacific crossing
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Plastiki |
| Owner | David de Rothschild |
| Builder | Andy Fox, San Francisco |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Catamaran |
| Tons burthen | 12 tons |
| Length | 60 ft (18 m) overall |
| Beam | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Notes | 12,500 PET bottles used as flotation[1] |
The Plastiki is a 60-foot (18 m) catamaran made out of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and other recycled PET plastic and waste products.[2] Michael Pawlyn[3] of Exploration Architecture worked on the concept design with David de Rothschild and helped to shape some of the key ideas. The craft was built using cradle to cradle design philosophies and features many renewable energy systems, including solar panels, wind and trailing propeller turbines, and bicycle generators. The frame was designed by Australian naval architect Andrew Dovell. The boat's name is a play on the 1947 Kon-Tiki raft used to sail across the Pacific by Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, and its voyage roughly followed the same route.[4]
On March 20, 2010, the sailing vessel set off from San Francisco, California to cross the Pacific Ocean with a crew of six: British skipper Jo Royle, co-skipper David Thompson, expedition diver Olav Heyerdahl, filmmakers Max Jourdan and Vern Moen, and expedition leader David de Rothschild.[5] The expedition projected landfall in Sydney, Australia and included plans to visit several sites en route of ecological importance or which were susceptible to environmental issues caused by global warming, for instance the current sea level rise, ocean acidification and marine pollution.
Plastiki arrived in Sydney Harbour on July 26, 2010, accompanied by a small flotilla of boats.[6] Shortly afterwards, it was towed to the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, where it was on display until late August.[4]
