Plastic bottle yacht Plastiki on view at National Maritime Museum
by Shirani Aththas on 26 Jul 2010
Plastiki sailing down Sydney Harbour on Monday SW
Plastiki, the remarkable ocean-going yacht made from 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles, will be on view at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, for a full month after its arrival in Sydney.
The 18-metre catamaran concluded an epic 8000 nautical mile voyage from San Francisco, California, when it arrived at the museum at around 12 noon on Monday.
Plastiki will be berthed at the the museum’s new Display Pontoon, immediately in front of the museum building, and remain at this location for the next four weeks.
Visitors will be able to view (and photograph) it at a distance of about 10 metres.
The leader of the expedition, David de Rothschild, and the Plastiki team are campaigning for increased efforts to reduce the vast quantities of manmade waste like plastic bottles and plastic bags that constantly find their way into landfill and the ocean.
The Director of the National Maritime Museum, Mary-Louise Williams, today congratulated skipper Jo Royle and the Plastiki crew on successfully completing an extraordinary and challanging voyage.
She said the Australian National Maritime Museum is pleased to be able to put notable vessels like Plastiki on display for everyone to see.
'Museums are not only interested in the past,' she said. 'We’re interested in what’s happening today as well. History is being made around us, all the time.
'What’s more, the museum itself is committed to the concept of clean and healthy oceans.'
Ian Kiernan, yachtsman and founder of Clean Up the World, will host an evening with Plastiki expedition leader David de Rothschild, Plastiki skipper Jo Royle and naval architect Andy Dovell at the museum on Friday evening 30 July.
Tickets are $20 ($15 ANMM members) and booking is essential. For information and bookings, phone (02) 9298 3644 or visit www.anmm.gov.au/membersevents
The Australian National Maritime Museum is open daily, 9.30 am to 5 pm. All inquiries (02) 9298 3777 or visit www.anmm.gov.au
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