|  A retired Benelux couple set off from Tenerife this morning to take on the Atlantic Ocean in a boat shaped like a bottle (photo).
Their odyssey will take them to Cape Verde, Senegal, Brazil, Surinam, and several Caribbean islands before they are due to arrive in New York in May 2007, where they plan to hand over letters written by children from the Third World to UN general secretary, Kofi Annan.
Fons Oerlemans, who is Belgian, and his wife Margarita Arens, who is Dutch, represent the non-governmental organisation, Human Connection. They plan to return to Europe via the Azores and Spain, before heading into the Mediterranean, where they will conclude their voyage in Amberes in 2008.
Their ship, the appropriately named "Message in a Bottle" has an inboard motor, two sail masts, took three years to complete, and was made from the parts from another boat last used in 1985.
As a gesture of solidarity, Santa Cruz port authorities waived harbour fees both for the "Message in a Bottle" and the boat which transported it to the island. |
