Fund-raising OAP adventurers crossing Atlantic on rickety raft

by Steven Mostyn - Feb 2 2011, 11:35

A sea-faring adventurer from London is currently attempting to cross the Atlantic aboard a makeshift raft to help raise awareness regarding the importance of clean water as a basic human right.

Anthony Smith (84), a zoologist and former science correspondent for the BBC, hopes the potentially perilous stunt will garner enough media coverage to shine a spotlight on the billion people who currently live without clean water.

According to Mr. Smith, the 2,800-mile voyage is likely to take around 70 days, during which he and his crew of three “mature and intrepid gentlemen” are looking to make as much as 50,000 GBP for WaterAid.

And, as if the journey itself weren’t dangerous enough, the team of OAP adventurers (aged between 56 and 84) are braving the elements aboard the An-Tiki, a seaworthy vessel made from little more than 12m lengths of water and gas piping.

“Water strikes at the very heart of need,” said Mr. Smith in a BBC report ahead of the raft’s launch. “To voyage almost 3,000 miles upon the salty kind will make us intensely aware of places in the world that are without adequate supplies.”

The An-Tiki raft set sail from the Canary Islands on Sunday, January 30, and is expected to reach the Bahamas during the early part of April.

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