Plastiki on course for Sydney

Plastiki, a 40 foot catamaran made out of recycled plastic and kept afloat by 12,600 2-litre plastic bottles filled with carbon dioxide, is now two thirds of the way across the Pacific on her voyage from San Diego to Sydney.

After 66 days at sea, the ketch and her six strong crew are now a couple of hundred nautical miles south east of Tuvalu, having left Kiribati on May 12. With favourable winds, the yacht could reach the Australian coast in mid July.

The vessel has a top speed of around 5 knots as her design allows water to wash through the stacked bottles that make up her two hulls. Although there is an emergency diesel engine aboard, everything on the boat is normally powered by the wind, solar energy or human pedal power.

The Plastiki expedition is trying to focus world attention on the amount of discarded plastic that is dumped in the world's oceans and which floats and gathers into huge mid-ocean garbage dumps. Plastic debris is taking a increasing toll on bird and marine life.

The crew, four men and two women, is three Poms, two Yanks and a Canadian. The project has nine crew members but only six can fit aboard at any time.

The boat is largely self sufficient. Power is stored in a bank of six 12-volt batteries and topped up by solar panels and bicycle driven generators. A bicycle driven contraption also powers the desalination plant to supply fresh water.

The crew's urine is used to water the hydroponic garden aboard that supplies vegetables. The composting toilet uses earth worms and coconut husks to function.

The boat has satellite communications and is fitted throughout with LED lighting that draws less power than a standard incandescent bulb.

The masts are made from recycled aluminium water piping and the sails woven from recycled PET bottles. The catamaran hull has no centreboards so it can be driven sideways by unfavourable winds.

The voyage can be followed on the Plastiki website: The Plastiki.com.