The Great Plastiki

Haute Living caught up with David de Rothschild for a “One on One” article this spring to discuss his pending “Great Plastiki” expedition. At the time, he was working on constructing a 60-foot catamaran, dubbed Plastiki, made entirely of plastic bottles and recycled waste products.

For the past year, near San Francisco Bay, a team has been diligently building a water vessel that will take a select few adventurers on a 10,000-mile journey to Sydney. The group will travel through a number of fragile and ecologically challenged regions, including the world’s largest waste dump, commonly known as “The Great Eastern Garbage Patch.” At the time of our article, no images of the watercraft had been revealed yet of the top-secret design.

However, renderings of the final product have been released, and David de Rothschild consistently updates his Twitter and Facebook pages with images the craft as it comes together. Just this morning, he reported from the pier that the pontoons have been fastened together and the cabins are on top. He exclaimed it “looks like a boat!” While the original launch date was planned for this past April, the craft is coming together nicely, and whenever it does launch will cause quite the stir amongst the yachting world, bringing much-needed attention to the ecological issues facing our world’s oceans.

Via The Plastiki Expidition’s Facebook Profile