KEY POINTS
- Samuel McLennan is trying to travel from Hobart to Sydney in a boat made of rubbish.
- He’s set to cross the Bass Strait after waiting for months for the right moment.
- McLennan wants to raise awareness about rubbish in the marine environment during his journey.
It’s a notoriously treacherous part of Australia’s ocean and Samuel McLennan is planning to cross it in a boat made out of rubbish he found washed ashore in southern Tasmania.
McLennan has — named Heart — for eight or so months, taking it slow up the east coast of Tasmania, and then sitting in wait on Flinders Island for the perfect conditions to cross the Bass Strait to mainland Australia.
“There’s been times where it’s been incredibly dangerous and there’s been times when we’ve just been sitting around … appreciating the scenery and connecting with locals and cleaning up rubbish,” he said.
John and Maggie McGee (pictured). John has spent most of his life crossing the Bass Strait. Source: SBS News / Kerrin Thomas
While preparing for the crossing, McLennan enlisted the help of John McGee who’s spent much of his working life crossing the Bass Strait with shipping companies.
“Bass Strait’s one of those places that can be so, so beautiful that it’s just inspiring, or it can be so damn deadly, and it can change very quick,” McGee said.
“I’ve spent most of my life on Bass Strait and it’s very achievable,” said McGee, who will not be travelling with McLennan.
— making sure the time is just right for the crossing.
“Just looking at the weather charts and making sure the conditions are suitable for what we already know the vessel can perform in and making sure there’s enough of a window to safely cover that in,” McLennan said.
The end goal is Sydney Harbour — but before then, the boat will make stops at Wilsons Promontory in Victoria before heading up the east coast.
Coastal cleanups
The journey — which McLennan has called Project Interrupt — seeks to raise awareness about rubbish in the marine environment and encourage people to do something about it.
Along the way, he and his crew have been connecting with local communities and cleaning up stretches of coastline.
“I find it quite interesting going out there searching for rubbish and finding it and seeing what does show up,” he said.
“Some places we’ve found rubbish where we didn’t think we’d find rubbish.”
Some of the rubbish Samuel McLennan has collected during his voyage has been sent back to Tasmania to be turned into jewellery. Source: Supplied
Some of what’s been found is destined for art exhibitions, while other pieces have been sent back to Hobart to be made into jewellery.
Hobart jeweller Chris Hood said: “This is actually a piece of pipe, but the material is thermoplastic, so you can heat it and bend it.
“In this case, we’ve made it flat so you can lathe it and manufacture it and then use that to move on to making it into pieces of jewellery.”
