|
Sail-World.com : 85-year-old sails raft across the Atlantic
85-year-old sails raft across the Atlantic
|
|
|
'An-Tiki enroute'
.
|
 | The rafting crew - .. . |
They have to be hailed as the Heroes of the Week, if not the Year. 85-year-old Londoner Anthony Smith and three retiree friends sailed their raft made of pipes, dubbed the An-Tiki, from the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa to the Caribbean island of St. Maartens. Sixty-six days and 2,800 miles later, the crew reached St. Maartens on Wednesday.
They made the trip to raise money for WaterAid, a British nonprofit which brings drinking water to poor communities, and to prove the elderly are capable of embarking on adventures frequently considered dangerous.
'Some people say it was mad,' Anthony Smith told the Associated Press. 'But it wasn't mad. What else do you do when you get on in years?'
To recruit his team of 'mature and intrepid gentlemen,' Smith, a former science correspondent for the BBC, placed an advertisement in British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
 | An-Tiki - they’ve made it across! - .. . |
It read: 'Fancy rafting across the Atlantic? Famous traveller requires 3 crew. Must be OAP. Serious adventurers only.'
In the end Smith was joined by John Russell and Andrew Bainbridge, his physician. They picked up the fourth crew member, David Hildred, a civil engineer who lives in the British Virgin Islands, three days into the trip after one of the raft's rudders broke.
The raft was built with four water supply pipes measuring nearly 40 feet long, and 14 cross pipes. Seven pipes held the crew's fresh water supply. The raft also had a nearly 40-foot-long mast and a 400-square-foot sail. Twin rudders provided the steering, along with centerboards and two oars. The raft traveled at an average speed of four knots.
While enjoying their time on the high seas, the crew were glad to be back on the ground, looking forward to having a nice shower and enjoying a good meal.
Their rafting skills were obviously excellent, but their provisioning skills may need some brushing up.
'We haven't had fresh food for a long time, Russell said. 'We've been living out of tins. Our fresh fruit and vegetables ran out a long time ago.'
 | An-Tiki route - .. . |
by Newsfeed/Sail-World Cruising
Click on the FB Like link to post this story to your FB wall
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=82201
4:57 AM Fri 8 Apr 2011 GMT
Click here for printer friendly version
Click here to send us feedback or comments about this story.
Click for further information on
Adventure Sailing
Related News Stories:
MORE STORIES ...
|
|
|
Our Advertisers are committed to our sport, please support them!
This site and its contents are © Copyright TetraMedia Pty. Ltd and/or the original author, photographer etc. All Rights Reserved.
Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph you must contact the photographer directly (there is a hyperlink in most cases to their website, or do a Google search.) with your request.
Please do not contact
Sail-World.com
as we cannot give permission for use of other photographer’s images.
Only if the photographer named on the image is Sail-world.com, Powerboat-world.com, Marinebusiness-world.com or NZBoating-World.com.
Contact us
.
Ph: +61 2 8006 1873
or complete our
feedback form
Contact us
.
View our Privacy Policy.
[ Go Home]
[ Banner Advertising Specification]
[Bot Archive ]
Customised news feeds -Marine Industry companies, Clubs and Associations have their own customised version of our news feed on their website.
Look_here_to_see_examples
|
CLD
| | |
