Sailing the Atlantic on a raft made of PE pipe

Up for an adventure that sounds just a bit nutty? Yesterday a raft made of polyethylene pipe left the Canary Islands on a 70-day (scheduled) sailing trip to the Bahamas. One sailing publication describes the crew as "four elderly gentleman (one of them a fit, fighting 84)." The raft, dubbed the An-Tiki, is made of PE pipe (some designed for potable water, some for natural gas transmission). That's appropriate, because the trip is aimed at raising awareness of the importance of clean water to the world's population. The trip is raising funds for a charity called Water Aid. A pipe extrusion firm is even involved in the project. GPS PE Pipe Systems, a unit of Brussels-based Aliaxis SA, is a sponsor -- it donate the PE pipe used to make the vessel. Bon voyage, An-Tiki!