By Dan Estabrook – August 11, 2008 (TNN)
On Friday, I reported on Junk, the raft constructed of 15,000 plastic bottles sailing from California to Hawaii to raise awareness about the plastic soup better known as the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre or Eastern Garbage Patch. Today, I actually spoke with the crew via satellite phone.
Dr. Marcus Eriksen talked with me over a surprisingly clear connection from the middle of the Pacific Ocean and about 650 miles east of Honolulu. With the good winds they are getting, the crew expects to sail into Honolulu Harbor in two weeks. “We are traveling about 45 miles per day,” Marcus reports.
The team is also 20 miles behind Roz Savage, who is rowing solo across the Pacific. Marcus and Joel Paschel (Marcus’ teammate) plan to catch up with Roz tomorrow. “We have water – she needs water. She has food, and we need food, so we are planning on trading supplies when we catch her,” Marcus says excitedly.
Team Junk is part of a broader project known as Message in a Bottle, an awareness campaign around plastic debris’ impact on the marine environment. Marcus says the team is currently on the southeast edge of the gyre right now and they are gathering water samples to share as part of a traveling exhibit around the U.S. next year.
Marcus, who has a PhD in science education, was inspired for his current project by a rafting trip he took down the Mississippi River in 2003. He could not believe the amount of plastic debris he saw in the river, which eventually makes its way into the Gulf of Mexico. Marcus told me at first glance, the gyre looks like any other marine environment. When you actually look into the water for a few moments, you begin to see small particles of plastic floating everywhere. While most of the plastic is broken down into small particles, the crew did pull a plastic plate out of the water yesterday.
“Fish are ingesting this plastic,” Marcus tells me. “The plastic blocks the intestinal path in marine animals, and poisons them as the plastic is toxic. The potential for this plastic having an impact up the food chain is quite concerning.”
The team collected the 15,000 bottles from a recycling plant and through several high schools. The boat has 6 30-foot long pontoons filled with empty bottles. The deck is made out of old sailboat masts, and on top of the deck is a Cessna fuselage that provides shelter. Despite the fact the raft starting sinking during the first week of the journey (corks and bottle tops came loose), the raft has held up well. The raft carries solar panels and a wind generator and both have worked marvelously for providing power. The only issue the crew is currently facing is the cracking of the masts.
A typical day at sea involves Joel and Marcus taking shifts on watch and navigating the raft. Marcus typically wakes up at 2 a.m. — by 4 a.m. he is sitting on deck watching the Milky Way. After 6-8 hours, he eats lunch, naps, answers email, and gets ready for another shift.
“We basically eat one meal a day and lots of peanut butter,” Marcus tells me. “Lots, and lots, and lots of peanut butter.”
The most memorable moment? Marcus says two events remain etched in him memory. Early in the journey the crew lacked waves and wind and were not making great progress. And then a mahi mahi swam near them — they were able to shoot it with their spear gun and the tasty dinner made up for the doldrums. The other memory that Marcus will take with him is looking up “at the immensity of the universe when I am on watch at night.”
After docking in Hawaii, Junk will be taken apart and shipped back to the mainland where it will be rebuilt and taken on tour to schools and communities all over the U.S.
And how do you top a journey on a raft of plastic? Marcus and Anna Cummins (Marcus and Joel’s stateside team support member) plan to bike from Vancouver, British Columbia to Tiajuana, Mexico in the spring of 2009 to spread the word about the problem of plastic.
Visit their blog and cheer them on! We also feature a short film about the team as our “Featured Video.”
Photo: Marcus Eriksen in front of “Junk.” Courtesy of Junk blog.