Plastic plesiosaur to be led through Swanage sea
It'll be dragged by Dorset world-record swimmer Oly Rush
World record-holding super swimmer Oly Rush is to attempt another first – towing a huge dinosaur in the water off Swanage beach.
The ‘human fish’ had a model plesiosaur made from 600 plastic bottles and other rubbish collected from beaches.
To raise awareness about plastic pollution he will be towing 15ft-long, 80kg ‘Percy’ today (Saturday 29th July) between the piers from 7.00am until 7.00pm.
Fellow volunteers from his Project Planet Earth group will be on the sand to explain to beach-goers what’s going on.
Oly, from Upton, is the fastest person to swim around the Isle of Wight and is the only person to have swum around Grand Cayman non-stop.
He said:
“I am aiming to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the oceans and Percy the plesiosaur will turn heads. The model was made by Glenn Martin, from Ghost of the Sea on the Isle of Wight, who makes some incredible and thought-provoking sculptures. When I pull it behind me it should look as if it’s chasing me.
"It was made from plastic collected on beaches and highlights just how much pollution there is out there.
“I set up Project Planet Earth as a group to raise awareness about plastic pollution and we’re hoping it will soon be an official charity. As well as doing long swims, I go into schools to speak to youngsters and spend my days removing plastic from Dorset’s beaches."
Plesiosaurs were a carnivorous marine reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs in the Jurassic period and they went extinct bout 50m years ago.