Kontiki Travel
Kontiki Travel with Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002) is one of history’s most well-known scientists, adventurers and champions of the environment.
Kon-Tiki was the raft utilized by Thor Heyerdahl in his 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands – the famous Kontiki Travel.
The Kontiki Raft was named following a legendary seafaring sun-king typical to both the old Inca kingdom and also the islands of Polynesia. The raft hoisted sail outside the port of Callao in Peru with 6 men onboard. With Thor had been 4 other Norwegians, Herman Watzinger, Knut Haugland, Torstein Raaby and Erik Hesselberg, and a Swede, Bengt Danielsson.
During the course of 101 days Kontiki travels approx. 8,000 km more than the open Pacific Ocean and landed on the Raroia Atoll within the Tuamotu Archipelago. The voyage put the existing view with the balsa wood raft to shame and proved that Polynesia was nicely inside the range of prehistoric South American seafarers. Some scientists refused to believe that the extraordinary voyage had actually taken location until a documentary film concerning the expedition was released. The film won an Oscar for best documentary. Thor’s well-liked book The Kon-Tiki Expedition was later translated into 70 languages.
On the 28th of April 1947, the Kon-Tiki raft was towed out with the harbour of Callao in Peru, and left adrift in the Humboldt Present.
A hundred and one days later, after crossing 4300 miles (8000 km) with the Pacific, the raft was washed up on the Raroia reef well inside Polynesia – Kontiki travel was ended.
The six men who produced up the crew were: Thor Heyerdahl, leader of the expedition; Herman Watzinger, in charge of meteorological and technical analysis; Knut Haugland and Torstein Raaby, both wireless operators, who maintained get in touch with with radio amateurs; Erik Hesselberg, navigator, who plotted the drift of the raft; and the Swedish sociologist Bengt Danielson, who acted as steward.
Thor Heyerdahl
The object with the expedition was to test the sea-going abilities with the South American balsa raft, and to investigate whether it would have been practically feasible for the original native population of Peru, the Incas and their remarkably cultured predecessors, to have reached the islands out within the open Pacific.
For more than a century scientists had debated as to whether or not balsa rafts were seaworthy, and to what extent it might have been feasible for the aboriginal inhabitants of South America to have contributed to the peopling of the Pacific islands. The specialists had finally concluded that the balsa raft was water absorbent and therefore compelled to hug the house coast exactly where it might be beached at intervals and dried out within the sun. It was also argued that low deck of an open raft would be unprotected within the high sea, and furthermore, that the balsa raft would dissolve as soon as the big logs began chafing on the rope lashing that held the craft together. Because of the common disregard for the former indicates of navigation in ancient South America, it had already been agreed, for practical factors, Polynesia could only have been reached from direction of Asia, until the arrival of European ships.
This generally accepted theory ran counter to the Pacific migration theory which Thor Heyerdahl had tried to obtain a hearing over numerous years. The Kon-Tiki expedition which he organized was an attempt to throw lights on these practical issues.
With co-operation of the Peruan authorities the members of the expedition built a balsa raft within the Callao naval yard. The raft was a copy of those utilized by the Indians on the coast of Peru and Ecuador at the time when the very first European arrived. Large sailing rafts of this kind, having a capacity of as much as 35 tons, were seen and described in detail from 1526 and on by the pioneering Spaniards who first amongst the Europeen discovered and colonized the Pacific coast of South America. Small raft models, and equisitely carved paddles and raft centreboards, have also been excavated in large numbers in desserts graves along the coast of Peru and North Chile, some dating back, to the very first centuries A.D.
The expedition test raft was built of medium size, consiting of nine 2-foot-thick balsa logs, ranging in length from thirty to forty-five feet, the longest within the middle, and lashed to balsa cross beams supporting a plaited bamboo deck and an open bamboo hut.
A bipod mast with a bamboo yard carrying a square sail; five centreboards thrust down in cracks between the logs; along with a stout block of balsa supporting a long steering oar completed the construction.
The raft was christened Kon-Tiki”, after a legendary Sun-King who based on Inca history is supposed to have ruled their land prior to the coming of the Incas, following which he is claimed to have migrated into the Pacific.
Kon Tiki Raft
In the ocean the Kon-Tiki proved to be eminently sea-worthy , with an incredible carrying capacity.
Each day the raft was driven westward and away from South America by the strong tradewind and the Humbolt Current, each of which maintained a steady course towards Polynesia.
Ample new supplies of food were also available in the Humbolt Present, every day edible flying fish and small squids would even come aboard uninvited: beneath the raft there was a constant procession of dolphins, pilot fish, sharks, bonitos, and occasionally tuna fish, as well as edible plankton.
It was feasible to collect limited supplies of rainwater, and to squeeze a thirst-quenching lymph liquid from the ever present raw fish.
The raft was also at numerous occasions visited by whales, and two specimens with the Gempylus or snack-mackerel, a fish which never previously been noticed alive by man, jumped aboard from out of the deep.
On one occasion the six men on the raft produced the acquaintance, at uncomfortably close range, using the whale-shark, the world`s largest fish, which kept on swimming right below the raft.
The raft was caught in two storms, 1 of which lasted for 5 days, but the balsa logs rode the waves with incredible ease, and as mass of water crashed down on the stern of the raft, it ran out via the gaps in between the logs.
The greater danger that threatened was falling aboard in powerful wind, and at one such event a man was almost lost.
Following 93 days at sea the expedition sighted land for the very first time as the raft drifted helplessly past Puka-puka on the eastern fringe with the Tuamotu group.
Four days later the Kon-Tiki passed so close towards the island of Angatau that the natives ashore paddled out towards the raft with their canoes, but once again it was swept past.
Kontiki Raft
When Raroia was reached after 101 days, the raft was caught in the surf and wrecked on the windward side of a coral reef just off the island.
The crew made their way ashore, and after a week they were found by native. Polynesians who lived on the other side of the wide lagoon.
The shallow raft was ultimately washed right more than the reef and into the calm lagoon, whence it was rescued, towed to Tahiti, and shipped back to Norway with assistance of the French authorities and Norwegian shipowners.
The documentary film with the travel with the Kon-Tiki won two Oscars in 1951 and Thor Heyerdahls book “The Kon-Tiki Expedition” become an international best seller and is translated to almost 70 languages.
