84-year-old adventurer set to launch Atlantic raft

Michael Howie - 

It is a journey that would test the mettle of any seafarer – a 2,800-mile Atlantic crossing powered only by sail.

But when four Englishmen set off on the trip, two things will make their expedition remarkable. Their vessel will be a raft made from plastic gas pipes. And the crew will be led by an octogenarian who relies on a stick to walk.

With a combined age of 259, the sailors on board the "An-tiki" will not be lacking in experience.

Anthony Smith, 84, will be joined by Don Russell, 61, David Hildred, 57, and Andrew Bainbridge, 57, for a ten-week voyage from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas. The raft is expected to begin the epic journey this week.

All the materials have been either donated or purchased by Mr Smith, who is spending compensation he received after he was run over by a van two years ago – an accident that has left the adventurer, writer and grandfather with metal pins in his leg.

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