Billionaire floats eco dream on sailing soda bottles
Plastiki and the 100% recyclable yacht
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
Posted in Biology, 25th November 2009 07:02 GMT
By now, David de Rothschild is used to being cast as the eccentric visionary whose well-meaning crusade to save the world's oceans is overshadowed by a lack of execution - or at least naiveté.
After all, the billionaire eco-adventurer's three-year quest to sail across the Pacific in a boat made completely of recycled materials has suffered its share of setbacks. For one thing, the vessel is no longer being made solely of recycled plastics.
And for another, some doubt the 60-foot catamaran containing 12,500 2-liter reclaimed soda bottles will withstand the cruel Pacific waves during a planned 12,000-mile trek from California to Australia.
What's more, the Plastiki - as the experimental ship is to be christened - was originally set to sail some 12 months ago, a deadline that's been repeatedly extended as the ambition of de Rothschild's plan has presented obstacle after obstacle to his 30-person team. (They now hope to put the boat in the water for the first time by year's end and begin the voyage early next year).
Read the rest of the article in The Register...
