David de Rothschild Bravely Sails Away To The Pacific's "Plastic Island"

Built from plastic bottles the de Rothschild heir sails his boat to show plastic island and marine pollution. (image via The Guardian)

David de Rothschild is no ordinary person; and certainly no ordinary adventurer. And his next adventure is something probably only the very rich could dream to do:

The son of Britain’s Evelyn de Rothschild of the famous Rothschild banking family, and a known adventurer and environmentalist, David has already accomplished a number of feats in his 31 years, including crossing both the Arctic icecap and entire continent of Antarctica, including reaching both geographical poles.

Founder of Adventure Ecology, his love for planet earth and concern for its environment as resulted in his launching of what appears to be his most harrowing feat of adventure to date. And that feat entails sailing a homemade craft made almost entirely of discarded plastic bottles, tied together by web mesh.

His destination: the gigantic “plastic island,” which we wrote about a few weeks ago –– it coming to light after Air France 447 disappeared into the abyss.

Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and made up of waste plastic and other material – and said to be almost twice the size of the American state of Texas.

Image via nakedmaninthetree.wordpress.com

His voyage, a journey of nearly 11,000 nautical miles, will begin off the State of California, continue until reaching the “island” now floating in an area known as the Great Pacific Gyre (southwest of Hawaii) and finally ending in Sydney Australia.

The improbable voyage, on a craft made up of the same type of flotsam that the “Plastic Island” is said to be made of, is to make people aware that our oceans, the giver of much of our planet’s food and oxygen sources, are in danger to being turned into nothing but floating garbage dumps; and as a result will make life on earth even more threatened.

The journey, which was to have begun in March, 2009, was delayed until mid-summer, which could make de Rothschild’s trip even more perilous due to the occurrence of typhoons and other serve storms which are more prevalent during the summer and autumn months.

The 60 ft catamaran craft, made out of 12,000 plastic bottles and other recycled plastic  material woven into self-reinforcing polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a very strong webbing material, will be his home and that of his crew during the voyage, which he says will take about three months.

Image via franklygreen.com

“The only worry I have (concerning the voyage) is that I get sea-sick in a bath tub. But when one is as committed as I am to do such a thing, it will be done” he says.

The craft that he and the small crew of scientists and ecologists will sail on has been named Kon-Tiki, after the primitive raft that Norwegian adventurer and writer Thor Hayerdahl used to cross the Pacific Ocean in 1947.

The main difference now is that the gigantic plastic island they are sailing to was much smaller then – if it existed at all.

While David de Rothschild globe-trots the earth to find ways to save the planet, the international banking empire his family represents have been making some moves into the United Arab Emirates, and were recently hosted by HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid, Ruler of Dubai and UAE Prime Minister.

The Rothschild banking consortium has entered into agreements with the Dubai government to establish financial and banking interests in the UAE. The interest of the Rothschild banking in the establishing themselves in the Dubai International Financial Canter (DIFC) indicates their  interest in assisting Dubai and other UAE states to become a leading financial center in the Middle East.

It is hoped that Rothschild bankers, with David de Rothschild’s influence, will invest in projects dealing with environmental sustainability, such as Masdar City, which is being developed as one of the fist truly ecologically friendly residential and commercial projects in the world.

What is currently transpiring in the Persian Gulf region, from an environmental standpoint, especially regarding The World artificial island development project, might well be David de Rothschild’s next environmental undertaking , after his Kon-Tiki sailing adventure to “plastic island.”

::Guardian

Update in March, 2010: David sails! (links to new story)

More rich and famous explorers:
Daryl Hannah Splashes Into Egypt’s Eco Tourism
It’s The Water That Binds Us Finds Alexandra Cousteau
Hollywood’s Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts Plant Pistachio Tree in Israel
Rich and Famous Eco Explorers Prepare for New Frontier

UPDATE: A recent press conference says the voyage will only take place by the end of the year.