Junk raft
Encyclopedia
A junk raft is a type of home-built watercraft made of plastic bottles or other recycled materials constructed by and for three different sorts of audiences: artists and community-minded groups organizing recreational flotillas; environmentally concerned individuals seeking to draw attention to the problem of floating debris, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and the need for recycling; and third world people who improvise small, functional watercraft from readily available materials.
in 2008, to "creatively raise awareness about plastic debris and pollution in the ocean", and specifically the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
trapped in the North Pacific Gyre
, by sailing 2,600 miles across the Pacific Ocean
on a 30 feet (9.1 m) raft made from an old Cessna 310
aircraft fuselage and six pontoons filled with 15,000 old plastic bottles. Crewed by Dr. Marcus Eriksen of the Foundation, and film-maker Joel Paschal, the raft set off from Long Beach, California
on 1 June 2008, arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii
on 28 August 2008. On the way, they gave valuable water supplies to Ocean rower Roz Savage
, also on an environmental awareness voyage.
The construction of the JUNK Raft began in April of 2008 and was finished in May that year. The huge undertaking of constructing this seaworthy raft was aided by volunteers from the educational environmental programs of: Bell Elementary, Green Ambassadors, Muse Elementary, Santa Monica High School, and Westbridge School for Girls. The volunteers lent a hand by cleaning bottles, fastening bottle caps, and stuffing them into the recycled fisherman's net pontoon forms.
JUNK Raft Project
The JUNK Raft Project was organized by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
in 2008, to "creatively raise awareness about plastic debris and pollution in the ocean", and specifically the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Pacific Trash Vortex, is a gyre of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between 135°W to 155°W and 35°N to 42°N...
trapped in the North Pacific Gyre
North Pacific Gyre
The North Pacific Gyre, located in the northern Pacific Ocean, is one of the five major oceanic gyres. This gyre comprises most of the northern Pacific Ocean. It is the largest ecosystem on our planet...
, by sailing 2,600 miles across the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
on a 30 feet (9.1 m) raft made from an old Cessna 310
Cessna 310
The Cessna 310 is an American six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane that was produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.-Development:...
aircraft fuselage and six pontoons filled with 15,000 old plastic bottles. Crewed by Dr. Marcus Eriksen of the Foundation, and film-maker Joel Paschal, the raft set off from Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
on 1 June 2008, arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
on 28 August 2008. On the way, they gave valuable water supplies to Ocean rower Roz Savage
Roz Savage
Rosalind Savage is a British ocean rower and amateur runner, now pursuing a career as an environmental advocate, writer and motivational speaker.-Background:Savage was born in Cheshire...
, also on an environmental awareness voyage.
The construction of the JUNK Raft began in April of 2008 and was finished in May that year. The huge undertaking of constructing this seaworthy raft was aided by volunteers from the educational environmental programs of: Bell Elementary, Green Ambassadors, Muse Elementary, Santa Monica High School, and Westbridge School for Girls. The volunteers lent a hand by cleaning bottles, fastening bottle caps, and stuffing them into the recycled fisherman's net pontoon forms.
See also
- Son of Town HallSon of Town HallSon of Town Hall was a junk raft which made a Transatlantic crossing in 1998, built by Poppa Neutrino.Writer Alec Wilkinson gave a vivid description of Son of Town Hall in his book The Happiest Man in the World, saying "The raft looked like a specter, a ghost ship, as if made from rags and rope and...
, junk raft which crossed the Atlantic, made by Poppa Neutrino - PlastikiPlastikiThe Plastiki is a catamaran made out of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and other recycled PET plastic and waste products. The craft was built using cradle to cradle design philosophies and features many renewable energy systems, including solar panels, wind and trailing propeller turbines, and...
, plastic bottle boat which made an expedition to the Pacific Garbage Patch
The Flying Neutrinos, NYC Junk rafts, and Art boats
- Poppa Neutrino, the grandfather of the Junk Raft, Home Made Rafting Association
- Poppa Neutrino, Still Sailing Along, NPR profile
- ECO ART: Swoon's Junk Rafts, by a Brooklyn street artist
- Swimming Cities of Serenissima, art boats made of junk sailing across the Adriatic Sea to the Venice BiennaleVenice BiennaleThe Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
Plastic bottle boats and rafts
- First Annual Lake Erie Boat Float 2009 Video, plastic bottle boats and other recycled material watercraft, sponsored by the Biodiversity Alliance
- Plastic Bottle Boat by Balachandra Kurup of Kerala, India, featured in The Hindu, Aug. 27, 2003
- "El Padrino", Plastic Bottle Kayak by recycling enthusiast Jesus Roman of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Surfrider Foundation
JUNK Raft project
- Junk Raft Publicizes Plastic Pollution, PBS NewsHour, Nov. 12, 2008
- Raft Made of Plastic Bottles Crosses Pacific, MSNBC, Aug. 28, 2008
- Crossing the Pacific on Junk Raft, LA Times, May 19, 2008
- Seattle Boat Show features famous Junk Raft
- Junk Raft Blog, chronicle of voyage with video clips
- Junk Raft Project Website, Algalita Marine Research Foundation