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Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures of the Seven Seas : WET & HOT NEWS !

08 October 2011

Environmentalists pitch voyage in sea of tsunami debris

AFP -

Fancy a holiday in a sea of junk? Environmentalists in the United States are offering "eco-adventurers" the chance to do just that.

From May 1 next year, the Sea Dragon will sail for two months through sections of the North Pacific Ocean swirling with debris from the March 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan, organizers said Wednesday.

"We'll be riding the same currents that are transporting cigarette lighters, bottle caps, children's toys and all manner of other plastic pollution generated by the tsunami," said expedition leader Marcus Eriksen.

The unique voyage is organized by the 5 Gyres Institute and the Algalita Marine Research Institute, both California-based non-profit groups that research and raise public awareness of plastic marine pollution.

Nine places are available on the Sea Dragon, a 22-meter (72-foot) former long-distance racing yacht, with the voyage being made in two stages -- the first costing $13,500 per person and the second priced at $15,500 per person.

Participants must agree to lend a hand to sail the steel-hulled sloop and to help researchers take stock of how the debris swept from the Japanese coast by the killer tsunami is drifting across the Pacific.

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Posted via http://maritime-news.posterous.com Maritime-News posterous

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