The boat, manned and made by Tom Simmat - ultra-marathon champion kayaker and bottle-boat builder – took off with 253 other competitors under Sydney Harbour Bridge to complete the 11-kilometre challenge, finishing at Manly Cove in a two hours and five minutes and, to the relief of all involved, with the boat in one piece.

The boat was constructed using about 1000 discarded plastic bottles - straight from Sydney Harbour - to highlight the impact of discarded bottles and raise awareness of the debate around the National Container Deposit Scheme.

In Australia it is estimated that 13 billion drinks are consumed in containers, less than half of which are recycled. The rest end up in the environment or landfill.

The conservation fund started collecting plastic bottles at the start of the year.

More than 2000 bottles were collected from the harbour.

It took a team of four people more than 100 hours to build the boat for the race. Another display boat was built with the remaining bottles.

Claudette Rechtorik, program manager at the conservation fund, who helped create the boat, said: “[We] are incredibly proud of the fantastic boat that was constructed. She even has a rudder and clear bottom so you can see the marine life as you glide across the shimmering water.

"This boat was created to draw people's attention, which certainly worked and, of course, to get people thinking about plastic pollution and what we can do about it, as well as to show our support and gather signatures for the National Container Deposit Scheme."

The government is set to make a decision on the scheme next month after agreeing to trial various options this year.

The conservation fund launched Seaweek at both SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary this week.

The program is a bid to raise awareness about what can be done to help protect Australia's unique and largely endangered marine life.

Guests visiting either attraction during Seaweek will be invited to take the "sustainable seas pledge" and explain the ways in which they will pledge to help Australia's marine life through a series of small steps such as buying tuna only if it has been caught using a pole and line.

This year, the conservation fund will run a number of programs, including:

SEA LIFE 1000-kilometre habitat challenge

The initiative aims to restore 1000 kilometres of native fish passage in NSW in a bid to restore waterways to freshwater fish, which are some of the most endangered, yet most underfunded, animals on the planet, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

So far, it has raised $70,000 through donations and grants, restoring 240 kilometres of native fish passage.

SEA LIFE turtle watch programme

The Sydney Aquarium has recently launched its turtle watch program and, in May, for World Turtle Day, the attraction will hold an Australia/New Zealand wide fund-raiser to buy satellite tags for the program.

The Manly Sanctuary now has a rehabilitation facility that looks after sick and injured turtles. Since it was launched in June last year, the sanctuary has rescued seven turtles.

Envirobank / waste clean-up

It is estimated that half of the 8 billion drink containers used in Australia each year end up as litter or landfill. In January last year, the Sydney Aquarium installed in its foyer an Envirobank – a reverse vending machine that provides a closed-loop recycling solution.

Last year, the aquarium collected almost 11,000 containers, which equates to powering a 100-watt light bulb for 16.9 years. All of the containers have been recycled and kept out of landfill.

Education and community awareness:

Manly Sanctuary educates children in how to protect marine wildlife.

Launch of Coast Guardians is a grant program to support those who are making a difference in aquatic environments.

The sanctuary also plays host to a variety of events and workshops that enable visitors to get passionate about reducing their impacts and helping our oceans.

smh.com.au