SAUSALITO, Calif. -- A group of adventurers and environmental crusaders were setting sail from Sausalito Saturday morning on a catamaran made entirely from recycled materials in order to highlight the problems of pollution in the oceans.

Environmental philanthropist David de Rothschild will captain a crew of marine activists and a filmmaker from National Geographic aboard the ship Plastiki, a 60-foot catamaran made from 12,500 recycled bottles and fully recyclable plastics.

The vessel will rely on renewable energy systems on an ocean journey of more than 11,000 nautical miles bringing attention to the ill-health of the planet's seas in the face of devastating amounts of pollution, primarily plastic waste.

The team plans to sail through the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a stretch of human trash and plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean believed to be the size of Texas.

The Plastiki and its notable crew members were scheduled to set sail at 9:30 a.m. at the Clipper Maritime Museum at 420 W. Harbor Drive in Sausalito.

The journey can be followed at the Web site www.theplastiki.com.