COSTA RICA 2024

My new mission:

I’ve become involved with a project to fight plastic pollution in the oceans.  The Flipflopi project, as it is known is collecting plastic waste from Kenyan beaches and turning it into planks, ribs etc with which to build dhows and furniture.  Our teams have sailed these craft as far as Zanzibar and around Lake Victoria, preaching to all about reducing plastic pollution.  Our team in Lamu even built HM King Charles a throne from this material, with which His Majesty was delighted when it was presented to him on his visit to Lamu.

Now a 60 foot ocean going dhow is under construction that we hope will eventually come to London.

We coat the hull of these boats with colourful flipflops found on the beaches, hence the title!

Now I am turning my attention to Central America and on 21st August, I fly to Costa Rica to set up a similar programme.  The re-established Raleigh International have a base there and together with ex-Op Raleigh venturers, we plan to gather up plastic rubbish swept in from Asia and the Pacific Ocean to litter the beautiful beaches.