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World's First Circumnavigation
of Tierra del Fuego by Sea Kayak
November 2009
Virginia Beach, VA (US) -
Manta Ventures, LLC is proud to sponsor Marcus Demuth and Biff
Wruszek during their attempt to be the first people to ever circumnavigate the
dangerous waters of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina in sea kayaks.In December
2009, Biff Wruszek and
Marcus Demuth will attempt to become the first kayakers to circumnavigate
Isla Grande Tierra del Fuego, a trip over 1,100 miles in one of the harshest
maritime climates in the world.
The attempt to be the first kayakers to circumnavigate Tierra del Fuego is a
fundraising expedition for "Achilles", a NYC based nonprofit that provides
athletic opportunities, such as running and kayaking, to disabled athletes.
The most challenging part of the trip will be the East coast of Tierra del
Fuego, a coast so treacherous it has never been attempted by kayakers before.
Additional information can be found on the expedition's website.
http://tierradelfuego2010.com/default.aspx
Manta Ventures' SeaPack desalination systems will be carried by both
Marcus and Biff. The SeaPack systems will be their last resort for
hydration in the event that fresh water cannot be located for survival.
HydroWell Village for
humanitarian relief efforts
June, 2009
Virginia Beach, VA (US) -
Providing water in remote and austere environments is a logistical
nightmare. In emergencies, water systems take too long to setup.
Bulk water is expensive and difficult to deliver. Surface water is
almost always heavily contaminated, resulting in death and disease.The
HydroWell Village solves the problem of providing
clean fluids to large groups by allowing the easy and safe filtration of
virtually any water supply.
The HydroWell Village uses forward osmosis to filter
out dangerous biological organisms such as bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Even dissolved solids such as heavy metals and salts are greatly diminished.
The HydroWell Village was designed for smooth and
simple operation in remote areas. No power or chemicals treatment is
needed. The modular design concept allows for easy expansion of
capacity (up to 1200 liters per day), and the light cleaning and maintenance
requirement means that trained technicians not needed to keep the system
running.
Watch HydroWell in
Action
Relief Pack under
development
May, 2009
Virginia Beach, VA (US) - Manta Ventures is
proud to announce the development of a revolutionary life saving technology.
The Relief Pack is being developed to help prevent the spread of AIDS from
mother to child. Used as a replacement for breast milk, the Relief Pack's
formula can be made from the filthiest water sources in the world. Ideal
for use in humanitarian efforts, in refuge camps or during disaster relief, the
Relief Pack can be used to save countless lives when water quality is uncertain.
Watch ReliefPack Save
Children's Lives
London Science
Museum
April, 2008
London, England (UK) - The Sea-Pack
desalinator is now on display in the Science of Survival exhibition at the
Science Museum in London. The exhibition has now opened and will be at the
Science Museum in London until November, before embarking on a global tour.
A duplicate copy of the exhibition will open at the Liberty Science Center in
New Jersey in October.Alex Johnson, Researcher for the Science Museum, states
"The exhibition deals with issues of how humanity might meet our needs in the
future in the face of climate and resource change. The SeaPack is on
display makes a point about what desalination is. It allows us to expose
the fact that in some regions of the world desalination is used to provide fresh
water on a large scale, though unlike the passive mechanism of the personal
desalinator, industrial-scale desalination requires a lot of energy. The
forward osmosis powered SeaPack does not require any external energy."
For more information on The
Science of Survival exhibit please visit their website.
Atlantic Solo Challenge
February, 2008
Southampton, Hampshire (UK) - Fleetwater
Marine, LTD - The WoodVale Atlantic Rowing Race is one of the world's toughest
nautical challenges and the ultimate test of mental and physical strength and
endurance. It has proven to be one of the world's last great adventures: more
people have stood on top of Mt. Everest than have rowed an ocean. This grueling
2,900 nautical mile ocean rowing race will start from La Gomera, Canary Islands,
on 3rd December 2007, and will finish 60-120 days later in Antigua, West Indies.
Fleetwater Marine has donated one of their state of the art
SeaPacks for Pete to take
with him on his
solo Atlantic crossing. SeaPack is the world's first osmotic seawater
desalination kit. Intended for emergency use, the SeaPack desalination kit
produces a life-saving drink directly from seawater. Perfect for use on
your off shore boat, sea kayak or for use in your life raft. The filtered drink
is very similar to the juice from pressed grapes and provides 480 calories from
each half liter - an important energy source during emergencies. The tight
osmotic membrane rejects a full 97% of the salt.
Hopefully Pete won't need to use this piece of kit, but he needs to be
prepared for the worst and as such. Fleetwater Marine's support is greatly
appreciated. Fleetwater Marine is a leading provider of next-generation forward
osmosis water filtration and desalination technology based on a proprietary
membrane that converts almost any polluted water into safe, potable drink. Read more at:
www.fleetwatermarine.com
Five Year Shelf Life on Syrup
January, 2008
VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA (USA) - Manta Ventures, LLC - All SeaPack, Expedition,
LifePack, X-Pack and HydroWell syrups are now certified for five years instead
of three years. Based on continued research, all syrup used for
desalination and water filtration now can be stored for five years when
maintained below 90 degrees Fahrenheit. All filters still have an
indefinite shelf life until used the first time.
US Coast Guard purchases SeaPacks for use on C-130 Search
and Rescue airplanes
August, 2007
VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA (USA) - Manta Ventures, LLC today announced that
the United States Coast Guard (USCG) has purchased SeaPacks for use on regular
patrol and rescue mission flights. The SeaPacks were purchased via a GSA
contract.
The United States Coast Guard will receive specially packed versions of the
SeaPack. These tightly packed special purpose SeaPacks will be included in
the ditch bags for C-130 aircraft.
SeaPack: Another life raft liquids source
By John Ira Petty - Correspondent
Published March 11, 2007
The liquid tasted sweet, with a touch of tartness thrown in. That wasn’t bad for
what started out as water from Offatts Bayou.
The drink was the product of SeaPack, a new device designed for desalination of
seawater in emergency situations. It not only removes salt, but purifies water
and produces a high-calorie drink.
It offers sailors another solution to the challenge of securing drinking water
in a life raft.
After running the Offatts Bayou water through it, I did a test with Galveston
Bay water and with not-very-pretty water from the drainage ditch behind my
house. SeaPack seemed to perform as advertised. To me, the resulting liquid from
each source runs tasted pretty much the same, though the product from fresh
water was not as sweet as those from salt water.
I drank about a pint of the liquid from each. I have yet to suffer any
noticeable ill effects. Goodness knows what drinking unprocessed water from
those sources would do to the human body.
SeaPack was introduced at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis last October.
Feineis said response there, at the Miami International Boat Show last month and
elsewhere has been pleasing. Now, it is sold in seven countries. Recently, Manta
Ventures announced that West Marine is offering SeaPack.
It’s billed as being compact, easy to use and requiring no effort. The user does
have to fill one side of the 8 1/2-by-11-inch bag with water and add the
grape-flavored syrup high in sugar to the other. The rest is virtually
automatic.
The syrup, Feineis said, creates osmotic pressure that pulls water through a
proprietary membrane. The syrup is necessary for the forward osmosis system. The
membrane has a pore size of 3 to 5 angstroms, 100 times smaller than the
smallest pathogens, he said.
It takes about five hours to produce half a liter (about a pint) of liquid at a
seawater temperature of 60 degrees, four hours at 86 degrees. Motion could speed
up the process some. One syrup charge is required for each half-liter of liquid
produced from seawater.
Once the process is complete, you can drink the liquid directly from the port
the syrup went into, or pour it into a container. Feineis recommends you sip the
drink over a period of time rather than guzzle it down.
SeaPack also will purify fresh water, as it showed in the drainage ditch test.
Feineis said it is effective in blocking biological pathogens and chemical
toxins. Each syrup charge will process about twice as much fresh water as salt
water (you use only half a syrup charge each time), which probably is why
product from that source didn’t taste as sweet.
The SeaPack system comes in a robust waterproof container measuring about 17
1/2-by-9-by-2 inches. The package, including five syrup charges, weighs 2.7
pounds.
The device costs about $100. Additional syrup charges are available at five for
$38. While $6 a pint might sound like a lot for even a high-calorie drink,
it could be a huge bargain under survival conditions. If you sail with a large
crew, having more than one SeaPack, plenty of syrup charges and/or additional
emergency water sources on board could come in handy.
The device has about a 10-day lifetime after its first use. That’s not much of a
disadvantage in most emergencies. Its shelf life is guaranteed for three years,
limited by the syrup charges.
John Ira Petty, a sailing instructor and, licensed captain, is the sailing
columnist for the Daily News.
Galveston County - The Daily News
SeaPack receives international press
Australia -
Sail World
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