SAILING across Bass Strait in a raft made entirely from rubbish has been a life defining achievement for Tasmanian sailor Samuel McLennan.
Currently moored at Rhyll on Western Port Bay Samuel McLennan is a guest speaker this weekend at the Phillip Island Whale Festival.
Hand building his raft entirely from rubbish Samuel left his home at Nubeena in Southern Tasmania back in February 2024.
Making landfall at Refuge Cove on Wilson’s Promontory 14 months later then seeking shelter at Port Welshpool the intrepid sailor had survived one of the most treacherous stretches of ocean in the world.
“It took a while to sink in,” said Sam.
“That I’d actually completed the crossing of Bass Strait.”
During his crossing of Bass Strait Samuel took shelter on several islands along the way including the Furneaux group and Deal Island.
Admitting to being frightened Sam said he had seen big storms before.
Just over 8 metres long and weighing more than 2 tonnes the vessel had its limitations.
“The weather was predictable, but not how the raft would handle it,’ said Sam.
“I admire you for your ingenuity,” said one onlooker at Rhyll.
A big part of the project has been to empower people struggling in life.
“If we live from the bottom up, everyone benefits,” said Samuel.
“We automatically become more accepting of people and have a greater understanding.”
Samuel is a leadership specialist with deep and broad experience on how human beings think, speak and act, providing mentoring opportunities along his journey and making presentations to schools.
With experience sailing the Atlantic and delivering yachts to Tasmania, Sam was willing to challenge himself and many others by sailing across Bass Strait.
Black high density pipes and oyster bags were used to construct Samuel’s raft retrieved from debris found in rivers, creek and waterways near Tasmania’s fish farms.
The whole raft is supported by black and white floating buoys and the vessel’s two sails have been recycled from discarded tarpaulins and a tent.
Powered by a 20hp two-stroke outboard across Bass Strait, the raft was recently upgraded to a 25hp 4-stroke, with all Sam’s food and waste stored on board.
According to Sam the aim of the project has been to inspire people to take new actions to shift the unworkable situation we have created for ourselves and future generations.
“We have become the only living species that has created a toxic environment to live in.
“This is a project to interrupt the way human beings think, speak and act about themselves and other people because the current result is that our waste ends up in the environment”
“The way we are behaving, speaking and listening doesn’t work for our survival or for the majority of other organisms on the planet,” he said.
“Project Interrupt creates healthy people and a healthy planet.
“I believe if I look after the ocean and everything that lives in it , it will look after me.”
Sam’s philosophy for life is simple.
“I know what I know, I know what I don’t know, but I don’t know what I don’t know.”
You can hear Samuel this Sunday July13, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm in the Stringybark Room upstairs at Berninneit Thompson Avenue Cowes as part of the Phillip Island Whale Festival.
For bookings go to events.humanitix.com/project-interrupt
For more information on Project Interrupt go to projectinterrupt.com or look for Project Interrupt on Facebook or projectinterrupt on Instagram.
