WaterAid An-Tiki sailors raise £1000s for charity

Four sailors on-board a raft made of polyethylene pipes and a pig shelter have crossed 3000 miles of the Atlantic and raised thousands of pounds for a water charity.


The raft, named An-Tiki, was captained by 85-year-old Anthony Smith with a three-man crew – aged between 56 and 61 years old.

Yesterday (April 6) the crew arrived safely in St Martin in the Caribbean, having sailed across the second largest ocean in the world.

During their 66 days at sea the crew battled bad weather, broken rudders and lumbers of freight boats sailing too close for comfort.

They also baked fresh bread every day, studied plankton with their on-board microscope and last week celebrated Mr Smith’s 85th birthday with a tin of pineapple chunks.

Mr Smith, a former Tomorrow’s World presenter, said: “We are looking forward to eating fresh food and enjoying some of life’s little luxuries again.

“But the excitement is tinged with some sadness as the arrival means saying goodbye to our trusty partner, the good raft An-Tiki, who has so steadfastly looked after us on this journey.

“We’ll also miss the incredible sights and sounds of life at sea, sunrises and sunsets, incredible wildlife, the camaraderie and that special space and solitude that ocean goers come to love.”

The crew hope to raise £50,000 for WaterAid to support them or for more information click here.

Luke Walsh

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