Tuesday, December 7, 2010

SAILOR ~




Poppa Neutrino's trans-Atlantic raft constructed of trash

Poppa Neutrino (William David Pearlman), spent his early years in San Francisco. At that time he saw a documentary on nomadic aborigines, and made up his mind: "That's the way I want to live; I never want anything more." Throughout his seven decades PN has been a young soldier, outsider/rascal/highway-department-official, circus performer, father, church founder, nomad, band and street performer, designer, raft builder, and nautical record breaker.

In the late 1990s Poppa Neutrino became the second man in history to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a raft, but his vessel was made of trash, and that's a first.

In 2008 Poppa Neutrino moved to Burlington, Vermont to set-up life and shop. This time he built a raft on Lake Champlain.

When his vessel was ready, the plan was to circumnavigation the globe, sailing away from Burlington heading south to Florida with three sailors and three dogs. They would be aboard a new craft — a 37 foot trimaran rigged with two outboards, a supplied pilot house and four cabins.

On November 9th their raft was washed onto rocks at Thompson's Point, Vermont on Lake Champlain. Everyone was rescued.

Stay tuned. And while waiting, perhaps read Alec Wilkinson's book The Happiest Man in the World. It's all about the great Poppa.



Poppa Neutrino





photo: poppa neutrino: floatingneutrinos.com