Plastiki Under Sail
Plastiki’s crew puts the ship through her paces on a shakedown cruise in San Francisco Bay. The 60-foot (18-meter) sailing catamaran made of recycled and repurposed plastics—primarily 12,500 empty PET drinking bottles—arrived in Sydney this week after an 8,000-nautical-mile journey from California. The epic voyage highlighted the huge problem of plastic waste in the ocean—and showcased solutions by proving what’s possible when people think beyond disposable, single-use plastics.
"The Plastiki [voyage] will be a great adventure, but I think more exciting is the ability to create a conversation on the issue of smarter plastics," Expedition leader David de Rothschild told National Geographic News just before sailing in March.
(Read more on Plastiki’s voyage)
—By Brian Handwerk
PHOTOS: Plastic Bottle Catamaran Crosses Pacific
Sailing a plastic bottle ship across the Pacific spotlighted the serious problem of plastic trash at sea—and showed that solutions are possible by simply thinking smarter.
