Boat made of plastic bottles crosses Pacific

"Plastiki", a water vessel made out of roughly 12,500 recycled bottles, successfully completed a journey from San Fransisco to Sydney, Australia.

The 8,000 mile journey began March 20th from California as Plastiki set sail to accomplish a first in nautical history. At the helm of the boat and the project,is 31-year-old David de Rothschild who undertook the extraordinary travel experiment to spread a message about ways in which people can help the growing problem of plastic debris clogging up our oceans. The boat was made entirely out of recycled materials, mostly plastic bottles but also recycled piping for the mast. Even the adhesive used to hold the vessel together is organic and comprised of naturally occurring and naturally processed materials. The boat's crew, led by de Rothschild, bravely survived the 128-day journey and is now docked at the Sydney Harbor, where a modest crowd greeted them with cheering. One crew member, the trip's documentarian, even missed out on the birth of a child while part of this dedicated crew. The boat derived all energy from solar panels and wind turbines.