Two Ocean Expeditions are Hawaii-Bound

At this very moment, a pair of historic ocean expeditions are making their way across the Pacific toward Hawaii. Gulf war veteran Dr. Marcus Eriksen and former Hawaii businessman Joel Paschal are sailing to Hawaii from California on a piece of junk. Literally. Meanwhile, Roz Savage is 71 days into her trans-Pacific journey, also en route to Hawaii.

The “JUNK” expedition vessel is constructed out of 15,000 plastic bottles (and a Cessna 310), and aims to raise awareness about ocean pollution. They’re more than halfway along in their journey, which you can track online. Roz Savage is hoping to be the first woman to row, solo, across the Pacific Ocean. She too can be tracked online, and is about 1,000 miles west of the Big Island.

The progress and observations from both expeditions are being blogged. Indeed, Roz Savage notes that she’s keeping an eye out for the “JUNK” crew. “I keep looking out for them,” she wrote on Monday. “I am sure they will catch up with me soon – especially once they get into these winds that have helped me along today.”

This seems to be the summer to make history. The Aloha State recently hosted Zac Sunderland, who aims to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world. He just arrived in Majuro.