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Across the Pacific on a Pile of Garbage

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Boating and Sailing News 03 Jun

You've heard of a junk rig, but how about a junk boat? In order to draw attention to the other masses of recyclables now floating in the pacific, and no doubt for the fun of it as well (they named the craft "Junk"), Dr. Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal have departed from Long Beach, California on a raft made mostly of plastic bottles - 15,000 plastic bottles - topped by the fuselage of an old private airplane.

It has sails, and it moves, but whether it's actually a boat or not depends upon your definition. Marcus and Joel left Friday, and hope to sail their raft all the way to Hawaii in order to help call attention to the problem of plastic pollution in the oceans. Sounds like an adventure! Because of the inherent redundancy of the design, the duo believe that the vessel can withstand anything but a collision.

The raft is 30 feet by 20 feet, consisting of thousands of plastic bottles bound together with fishing net into "pontoons," and then set in a deck/framework of old aluminum spars. The "cockpit" of the raft, which will provide shelter for the two man crew, is an old airplane fuselage, which the team overhauled and "made waterproof." They expect to make landfall in six weeks, but are carrying provisions for three months.

Dr Ericsen explains explains that "we are risking our lives, but [...] the future of our nation's economy, environmental quality, and human health, are at stake. I remember 17 years ago, as a young Marine in the Gulf War, standing in Kuwait City covered with drops of oil from the burning wells, saying to myself, 'Why have we done this?'" He goes on to say: "This expedition aims to alert my nation to the plastic marine debris issue, the legislation that will cure this plague, and the corrosive national policy toward energy that fails us all."

-Brad Hampton for YachtPals.com

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Video: The boat Junk made out of recycled bottles leaves Long Beach California headed for Hawaii.

Submitted By YachtPals on 03 Jun

junk, garbage, recycleable, raft, bottle raft, junk raft, boat, boating, sail, recycled, boats, eco-boats

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Update from the JUNK BOAT

On July 20th, 2008 YachtPals says:

We have just received an update from Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal, currently sailing the Junk boat downwind to Hawaii.

"The East trade winds are consistently blowing 15-20 knots, pushing us 40-45 miles per day. We’ve got the JUNK square sail flying for the first time. Hopefully it’s downwind all the way. There are still 30 degrees of longitude left to cross - 1800 miles. If we can maintain 300 miles a week, we’ll get there by the end of August. To put it into perspective, that’s driving from Los Angeles to New Orleans at two miles per hour for the next six weeks. Martigras anyone?

We’re getting some wind from the cyclones down below. A plus for us: were in the cold water, where cyclones die. We’re riding the 23rd parallel, where the water is around 65 degrees. Down south, below 20 degrees latitude, temperatures rise to 80, perfect bath water for a cyclone.

Right now the seas are 6-8 feet, with sporadic white caps that spill over the deck of JUNK. All of our fish jerky is hanging in the cabin to dry above Joel’s head. We’re both only pages away from finishing Don Quixote. When we get bored we pump the watermaker, adjust the sails, grab a few almonds for a snack, and gaze at the coming waves."