By Anna Turchaninova, translated by Nadia Artemieva
On March 1, 2017, the State Darwin Museum of Moscow hosted a much-awaited public appearance of Kon-Tiki2 crew – almost a year after the expedition's abrupt termination. Torgeir Sæverud Higraff, Boris Romanov, Andrey Chesnokov, Håkon Wium Lie, Pål Børresen and Evegny Schtil spoke to the public.
In spite of our real-time virtual presence aboard the rafts throughout the journey, what we saw and heard on Wednesday were some other pictures and a very much different view of the causes and consequences, along with some new emotion too. Torgeir spoke in much detail of his previous expedition – the Tangaroa – comparing it to Kon-Tiki2. «2006: I am in paradise and my dreams come true; 2016: a totally different picture». A different route (the leg from South America was completed and the return leg was not), a different raft design (Tangaroa rafts could have spent a year at sea), and, according to Torgeir, substantial deterioration in Ocean condition over the past ten years – in terms of the climate, the weather, plants and animals, etc.. He did emphasize the miscroplastic issue repeatedly, begging us to pay special attention, as otherwise «we would soon be finding pieces of plastic on our dinner plates».
Speaking specifically of Kon-Tiki2, Torgeir focused on people, the team, and everyone's special role. There's still some sort of rivalry between the female and male rafts, and Torgeir mentioned Rahiti's military camp discipline as opposed to Tupac's immensely fun and somewhat «couldn't care less» setup.
It's amazing how Torgeir seems to be still there, to keep sailing and living through the highs and lows of the mission, to keep loving every moment of it and mourning the expedition's ostensibly premature and abrupt ending. I didn't even dare to ask him whether he thinks this was a proof that sailing from Rapa Nui to South America is impossible, or just a misfortune. He kept saying «I was so happy» and «this has been a nightmare» or «these were the best days ever». He said that dismantling the rafts before evacuation was the toughest task ever: «in a male world, this is the closest one gets to abortion». (Which means the goal of reaching South America was the «baby», not the journey itself! Honestly, I could not disagree more! To us, the very fact that the mission happened has been way more important that the actual proof of the Polynesian genome hypothesis).
Torgeir is definitely a charismatic speaker, a born leader, and a highly handsome human being. I wanted to yell out «Hey, man, quit being upset, let's do another one!», but nobody dared to translate this for me :) But people still kept asking him about Kon-Tiki3, 4, 5 etc. He replied that his next mission will be on Chukotka (!) and asked for some phone numbers. As to Kon-Tiki3, his wife is likely to have some objections (which is understandable keeping Chukotka in mind).
Other crew members looked way more relaxed and calm. Torgeir's emotional and rapid slide show was followed by Evgeny Schtil's short film (or rather a collage) dissecting the expedition – with both cute details (like 200 books aboard the two rafts and 2 sweaters knitted by Signe) and some heart-breaking facts of evacuation and weight loss. Evgeny believes they needed more wine, condensed milk, meat preserves, and lard on board. On the other hand, he was pleasantly surprised by freshly baked bread and buns instead of the usual dry crackers. By the way, Evgeny did quite a few drawings, and Torgeir said that the mission needed such an artistic person aboard.
The audience has been a pleasure to watch, with many faces being familiar – from the Russian Kon-Tiki2 fan page on Facebook and elsewhere. The discussion part turned out to be a bit short – we definitely needed more time to debate the rumors and versions of what happened. The audience was well-prepared, so it could have been quite an argument. But Torgeir was wearing a suit! Our numerous kids made the whole thing less formal by both roaming around the conference hall and asking questions like «is he speaking English for a reason?», «what did you do when you were drowning?», «why didn't you have a phone?», etc. After the event the Norwegians took a picture with the bunch naming it «The Crew of Kon-Tiki15». That would certainly be fun.
For some reason, no one mentioned the books and movies they were all conceiving while on the rafts. Rumors are, Torgeir and Evgeny Schtil are editing videos and deciding on film formats, while Andrey Chesnokov has almost finished a book surpassing Thor Heyerdahl's epic writing...
Poet Elena Albul has asked a very deep question, something like: «the ones new to ocean voyages are all speaking of something new they discovered about themselves during the journey. But what is the romantic/transformative appeal of the mission for such an experienced explorer as Torgeir?» The matter was lost in translation, so Torgeir replied with delay and to a question never asked, or maybe the tough Norwegians couldn't care less about some stupid romantic appeal. That's what he said: «I enjoy having people as slaves. Håkon managed technical support. Pål did human resources. Adnrey performed routine operations on the raft. Boris and Sergey were mission doctors. Everyone had a job and I needed them all as professionals. As to me, I just love being at sea, this is my life».
While Kon-Tiki2 was at sea, Ole Bjørndalen won yet another gold medal, so we asked Torgeir via Andrey «What's your Norwegian secret?». He replied: «There's no secret. All he has in life are his skis and his rifle. He just keeps skiing and shooting all the time». Well, Torgeir, as I see him, just keeps sailing. We wish him all the luck right where he belongs – between the Ocean and the Skies! And he can always count on Russians for romantic appeal, deep meanings, and medical assistance.
Greetings to the Expedition
(2016-05-25) Hege Araldsen, Norway's Ambassador to Chile, has sent a greeting to the Expedition. As can be seen in these pictures, she recently met with Admiral Larrañaga to express gratitude to the Chilean Navy for the rescue operation. Read her and other greetings on our greetings page.
The Last Challenge
By Torgeir
(2016-05-20) I need to drive 1500km from Oslo to Rotterdam to pick up the Kon-Tiki2
equipment that just arrived from Chile & be back in 3 days. Which one of my
friends is stupid enough to want to help? I know, I'll call Ian!
And so the adventure began. At least according to my friend Ian Naysmith.
Actually the plan was made a couple of months ago. During the rescue operation
in the Pacific ocean in March, some important equipment and data were saved,
weighting half a ton. We have ships sailing from here to Holland, we may
place the equipment on one of those ships, said Eugenio Moreno, general
manager of Gearbulk in Chile. He got Phil Curran, who is head of Gearbulks
operation group in Chile, on the job. When the ship arrived in Rotterdam, Orestis
Bakas from Gearbulks UK office took charge. Ian and I only had to drive a car
and a trailer that I was happy to borrow in Oslo. Outside of the driving and
occasional traffic, all went great. Steven Csanyi from Australia delivered the
goods at the port with a big, helpful smile. On the map you can see the return
route (blue line). The border crossings went okey. Fortunately we did not need
to explain that the stuff in the trailer was from South America, picked up at a
port in Rotterdam. We stayed one night in Osnabrück on the way south, and in
Oldenburg driving north. Both pleasant towns. But driving 3000km in three days
is not something I recommend as vacation. I think Ian agrees.
Greetings to the Expedition
(2016-03-11) Erik Thorsby, a notable Norwegian scientist, sends his greetings to the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition:
First of all my congratulations! For the first time you showed that it is possible to sail by a copy of an ancient Native American raft from South America directly to Easter Island. This in itself is a great achievement. In addition it gives further support to contacts between Eastern Polynesia and South America in pre-historic time.
(2016-03-25) Several Kon-Tiki2 crew members, including Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff, landed in Oslo today, to a hero's welcome. Family and friends had gathered at the airport to greet the crew. In Norwegian tradition, flags were used to cheer the returning sailors, who were happy to be home after an extraordinary journey. In these pictures you can see Ola, Erik, Erlend in addition to Torgeir. Also, Håkon and Øyvin, crew members from the first leg, were present, and can be spotted.
Andrey, the Russian crew member on Tupac, did not arrive in Oslo, but he has written some closing remarks, well worth reading.
(2016-03-21) The Chilean Navy ship "Piloto Pardo" today entered the port of Talcahuano, near Conception, in Chile. All Kon-Tiki2 crew members are on board. While still at sea, but with cellphone connectivity, Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff expressed heartfelt sadness for not arriving by raft, as he has been planning for years. However, he also expressed gratitude for everyone being safe thanks to the Chilean Navy and the Hokietsu Ushaka freight ship. In the hours to come, the crew will transfer to a local hotel and have debriefing sessions. And probably a good meal, prepared on land, for the first time in 74 days.
Maori power!
(2016-03-20) Lisa, one of the Kon-Tiki2 crew members, was injured when being evacuated from the Rahiti Tane raft. Read Liv's description of what happened and how Lisa continued the climb to the deck of Hokuetsu Ushaka.
(2016-03-19) After two days on the cargo ship, the Kon-Tiki crew and the scientific equipment from Tupac are now with the crew of 43 people on the coast guard ship Pilot Pardo. We have been rescued twice this week and I think my fellow Kon-Tiki2 crew members share my opinion that both rescue operations were perfectly executed. My gratitude goes firstly to Captain Yun Sun Gug from South Korea who made us feel as home in Hokietsu Ushaka. He was rescued himself in the Indian Ocean 41 years ago when his ship sank early in his career. I know what it is like, I understand how you feel, the veteran told us in a moving speech yesterday. In those days we did not have communication like now, we only had morse. My wife and daughter suffered a lot for 20 days before they got to know that I was okey. In comparison we talk with our family with our tablets, thanks to our Opera Software sponsorship. I will never forget Yun and his crew.
In Pilot Pardo we had chicken for lunch and were served wine. Now we rest in good beds and enjoy Chilean professional rescue standards. These men really know what they are doing. It took only a few minutes to bring us into the RIB boat and from this we were lifted up in the air and to the stairs that lead us onboard the 80 meter long ship. Talcahuano is their home port, some 450km south of Santiago. We'll be there Monday at 10am.
[In the pictures, you can see Captain Yun Sun Gug with Torgeir; a picture from the transfer to Pilot Pardo; the rescued Norwegian flag onboard Pilot Pardo along with recognizable crew members Lisa, Andrey and Pedro. Finally, Torgeir with the officers on Pilot Pardo]
(2016-03-19) The 14 crew members of the Kon-Tiki2 rafts are now safe and healthy on board the cargo vessel Hokietsu Ushaka after a successful rescue operation Thursday. We decided to ask The Chilean Armada for assistance and to end the scientific expedition Kon-Tiki2 after 115 days of sailing and 4½ months at sea. The two rafts – Tupac Yupanqui and Rahiti Tane – were made of 11 balsa logs and 10 crossbeams held together by 2000 meters of natural fiber ropes – like the ancient South American rafts. Tens of thousands of waves, up to six meter heght, hit the rafts in an extreme El Niño year. This constant stress for 16 weeks weakened the ropes. Some of the 150 or so knots were replaced in tough working conditions, but we could not replace all of them. In particular, the rigging was a major safety concern. To avoid accidents (e.g., a mast collapse in a storm) we decided to perform a controlled disembarking during daylight in good weather.
We are very happy with the help from the Armada. In October last year, a month before the launch of the rafts, I met representatives of the Aramade in their headquarters in Valparaiso. On Easter Isladn, the Armada assisted us in mooring the rafts, and during the voyage we have had weekly contact with the Armada.
Kon-Tiki2 is a unique collaboration. Logs from Ecuador provided by the AirexBaltekBanova comany were turned into rafts in Peru at the shipyard of the The Peruvian Navy, then sailed to Easter Island, and finally rescued by The Chilean Armada in an attempt to reach South America.
(2016-03-19) When our call for assistance was sent out, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center contacted the closest ship that could come to help. As we were in an area with little ship traffic we were mentally prepared that we could have to wait for several days. However we were lucky that the woodchip cargo vessel Hokuetsu Ushaka under the command of captain Sun Gug Yun was only twenty hours away from Rahiti Tane, on their way from Japan to Calbuco in Chile. After successfully saving the crew of Rahiti Tane, Hokuetsu Ushaka continued south a few hours in order to reach Tupac Yupanqui.
Captain Ola and captain Signe, both needless to say concerned over the situation, were deeply impressed by how perfectly the captain maneuvered the 49 000 tonne and 210 meter long ship so close to the raft that the crew could throw mooring lines down to the rafts. This ship is as long as a skyscraper is high and has only one propeller - maneuvering is not easy. The huge hull of Hokuetsu Ushaka served to dampen the waves as the assisted raft was tied longside. A rope ladder was lowered down along the ship side and the raft crew, each secured with a harness, climbed up the 16 meter high ship side. Equipment was hoisted up in another rope that was manned by the dedicated crew that worked hard to save as much as possible.
All procedures were followed and it was a very successful rescue operation - twice! We would like to commend the captain and crew for the professional and friendly way in which we have been received onboard the ship.
All onboard, even Balsa
(2016-03-18) All Kon-Tiki2 crew members are now safely onboard the Hokuetsu Ushaka freight ship. This includes Balsa, our monkey mascot, as seen with Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff and Captain Signe Meling in the last picture. The expedition requested assistance after 114 days and 4500 nautical miles in the South-East Pacific. The balsa rafts were dismantled in a controlled fashion to not be a danger to other vessels. People and equipment were transferred from the raft to the freight ship, and Captain Ola Borgfjord can be seen with cases of equipment in the sceond picture. We are thankful to the captain and crew of the Hokuetsu Ushaka for welcoming us. Also, we thank the Chilean Navy for coordinating the operation in a highly professional manner.
Preparing for rescue operation
(2016-03-17) The crew on Tupac Yapanqui reports that a plane from the Chilean Armada passes above raft as they prepare to disembark. On Rahiti, Pedro is talking on VHF with a possible rescue ship, the Hokuetsu Ushaka enroute to Chile. In the first photo you can see one of many repair operations on Tupac. In picture 2 and 3, Erik is in his diving gear rescuing the echo sounders from underneath the raft. Picure 4 shows the lowered mast, and picture 5 shows the Tupac crew inside what has been their home for the last 10 weeks. In the final picture, taken a few hours later, the Hokuetsu Ushaka has arrived. Thus, the raft will be abandoned, but we will continue reporting on the well-being of the crew. Stay tuned.
Kon-Tiki2 Expedition ends
(2016-03-17) The Kon-Tiki2 Expedition has decided to end the expedition after 114 days and 4500 nautical miles in the South-East Pacific. The goal of the expedition has been to show that balsa rafts can sail from South America to Easter Island, and back. The Expedition reached Easter Island after 43 days at sea, but the return voyage has proven more difficult due to atypical winds.
We have shown that balsa rafts can sail to Easter Island. This is a first, in modern times. We have also made good progress on the return journey, but this is an El Niño year and the weather patterns we have encountered have been atypical. We realize that reaching South America will take too long and we prefer to evacuate to ensure safety for all, says Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff.
The Expedition consists of two balsa rafts that left Lima in Peru on Nov 7th, 2015, and arrived on Easter Island just before Christmas. On Jan 6th, 2016, the rafts started the demanding return voyage.
In a normal year, we would have reached South America by now. Instead, we are still 900 nautical miles from land and the weather forecasts are not promising. The crew is at good health and spirit, and there is no emergency situation. These rafts have proven to be exceptional vessels at sea. They have impressed us by their seaworthiness in all sorts of weather, over enormous and remote waters. Needless to say, it is sad to end the expedition without reaching South America, says Higraff.
The Kon-Tiki2 Expedition has done important scientific research on climate change, marine life, plastics, and pollution in the Pacific.
The rafts are rigged as floating research vessels through a unique collaboration between NIVA, NTNU, Kongsberg Maritime, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Nortek, Sperre, Opera, and the American research organizations NASA and NOAA, says Cecilie Mauritzen, Chief Scientist of the Expedition. We have gathered large sets of data on climate change and pollution. From a scientific point of view, it has been particularly interesting that the expedition took place in one of the strongest El Niño years recorded, even if El Niño now contributes to the termination of the expedition. As research partners, we look forward to receiving and analyzing these data sets, says Mauritzen.
The Expedition is supported by Thor Heyerdahl Institute, 3A Composites AirexBaltekBanova, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Expedition is discontinued in close collaboration with the Chilean Navy, which have assisted us in a highly professional manner. The Norwegian Embassy has also communicated closely with the Expedition, says Ambassador Hege Araldsen at the Norwegian Embassy in Santiago, Chile.
For further information, contact Håkon Wium Lie, h@kontiki2.com or phone +47 90192217
One-huge-fish-Andrey
(2016-03-15) Andrey sailed 111 days before he got his first fish. And that wasn't a small one – it was our biggest catch so far! Andrey has never caught a fish from the sea before. No wonder he was yelling more than both Erik and Roberto when he realized that the fish was secured on deck. In the second picture, Torgeir can be seen with 7 kilos of fish filets.
(2016-03-14) As Torgeir was forced to finished Tupac's last package of flour yesterday, as it had gone wet in the gale, the crew of Tupac do not have bread to eat anymore. On Rahiti we are of course concerned by their situation, but as we are all thoroughly conversant with french history, we also know the remedy. "Let them eat cakes then." Inspired by Marie Antoinette, Erlend and Rasmus on board Rahiti spent the night watch between 00:00 and 04:00 baking buns for the flour and oven less people of the fellow raft. Erlend will bring the buns over tomorrow when he will, knock on balsa, finally end his more than four week long confinement onboard Rahiti and return to his home raft. The forecast looks good for tomorrow, so hopefully he will be able to make it.
As you can see in the pictures, the oven onboard Rahiti is also starting to show worrying signs of malfunction. Lighting it was quite some work, and the glass front of the hatch has to bee kept in place with duct tape. I guess you know what they say about things that cant be repaired with duct tape: "If you can't duck it, ..." Well, we seem to be able to keep the oven for yet another day or two.
Repairs & Recovery
(2016-03-13) The crew of Tupac has been repairing damage caused by a gale some days ago. Huge waves broke on the deck and ripped the walls of the cabin. In the first picture, Ola is repairing the railing. In picture 3, soaked breadmix is recovered and later turned into delicious bread.
The last Baker Hansen bread
(2016-03-12) Today we have a lot of bread. Torgeir found a plastic bag full of breadmix in a box on deck. That sounds like great news, but the box was also filled with seawater. So the brave bakers on Tupac had to make bread of all the breadmix. Not a huge catastrophe for hungry men. In the first picture, Torgeir is seen with freshly baked – but also the last – bread from Baker Hansen. In the second picture, Pedro enjoys the bread. He will bring some to the Rahiti Tane raft, when he transfers later today.
The floating garden of Rahiti
(2016-03-12) The rafts have sailed into biologically active waters since leaving Easter Island. In the first picture, Liv "The Barber" Arnesen is mowing the lawn in the aft of the Rahiti Tane, preventing the crew from sliding around on the slippery sea weed. In the second picture, barnacles and seaweed fight for precious territory.
(2016-03-11) The crew on the Kon-Tiki2 rafts had a sleepless night when struck by a 8-10 meter high waves in gale conditions. Some damage has been reported and repairs will commence when the wind slows down as predicted by weather forecasts. In the first picture, the crew on Tupac are out on deck. The magnetic compass can be seen on top of the emergency raft. In the second picture, Roberto lights the gas burner by shorting a 12 volt electrical connection; there are no working lighters left. The third pictures shows damage to the walls of the cabin. In picture 4 and 5, captain Ola can be seen in his makeshift hammock bed, above the kitchen which has been moved inside, temporarily.
Albacore for dinner on Tupac
(2016-03-10) Dr Hook's words of encouragement (see below) must have caused good fortune for Tupac Yapanqui: a record 10-kilo, some say 15-kilo, Albacore was caught by Erik today. For every fish they catch, they can keep on fighting against the wind for more hours, towards South America.
In other news, a gale from south-east (the wrong direction, that is) hit the raft and caused havoc on the deck of Tupac. The kitchen has now been moved indoors for protection. On the map, you can see that the rafts are being pushed northwards by these winds.
Dr.Hook on good food
(2016-03-10) Dr Hook, also known as Geir Sivertzen, writes back to Torgeir:
I am a hunter, harvesting the nature. I love to eat meat or fish that I have brought home from the nature, and spearfishing used to be one of my favorite activities when I was an active scuba diver. Sportfishing is great, and I very much appreciate the nobel art of flyfishing and I may also release fish when the situation is right for that. BUT I also love to fill up my freezer with fish I have caught. I really appreciate to see that you finally are catching quite well from the KonTiki rafts, with the fishing equipment I provided from PENN/ABU/Berkley and introduced to you in Peru. Keep up the good activities. Catch the fish with your spears, on the gaff, trolling and casting for fish from the rafts. Get the excitement, the photos and videos, the good food and NEVER let there be a single moment without having two lines with hooks in the water from the rafts. You will catch more fish, and I look forward to see the results on photos and video.
The first picture shows Dr Hook with hopeful students at the Escuela Naval in Lima in October 2015. The second picture is an underwater photograph of fish being caught from the raft, using equipment provided by Dr.Hook.
Collecting water and memories
(2016-03-09) On Tupac the creative thinking is on its best under pressure. The team noticed that rain water runs down the sail onto the three ropes like in aquaducts. During his nightwatch, Andrey collected several liters of water by attaching a casserole underneath the ropes. On the photo Torgeir collects another cup from the invention. It tastes fresh with a hint of sisal and cotton, Torgeir reports.
The big happening this morning was a giant molamola, trying to race Tupac for a few minutes with its huge fin waving from side to side, the tip just above the surface. The raft kept 3 knots and won the competition, and the molamola gave up before Erik jumped into the water. The massive white body in the sea must have weighed almost a ton!
(2016-03-09) I have read almost all our books, knitted and used up almost all my yarn, listened to all my music... what now?
Facing the prospect of another 4 (5? 6?) weeks at sea, I started fiddling with a rubik's cube that was lying around about a week ago. I know how to do a 3*3, but this is a 4*4 and that is a whole other story. I've managed the solve the top layer, but it stops there. To save myself from going nutty trying to solve it, and my fellow crewmates from going nutty watching me try and fail, with the frustration that invariably follows - can somebody please send me some instructions?
[Signe's email address is captain.rahiti@myiridium.net. Only very small attachments get through the satellite connections]
(2016-03-09)
Dear Dr. Hook (a.k.a. Geir Sivertsen, Kon-Tiki2's fishing expert). I apologize for this photo, and for the hunting technique that Erik presents on the photo. But the crew on Tupac has left most standards of sport fishing and we are now hunters and gatherers on the biggest oceanic desert in the world. Please forgive us!
March 8th: Happy Women's Day!
(2016-03-08) The International Women's Day is celebrated throughout the world, even in the South-east Pacific. Both rafts of the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition have issued statements. Andrey writes:
Today is the 8th of March and the crew of Tupac wants to send our wishes for women nearby! Dear Signe, Liv and Lisa! We miss you all and love you! We wish you dry clothes, sleeping bags and good winds! For Liv and Lisa we also wish some fresh fish. Have a great day!
Liv writes:
On behalf of the women on the Kon-tiki2 expedition we wish all female followers a great March 8th! The three of us feel very privileged to be on this adventure. Before this expedition, Lisa and I came back from a two-month expedition on the river Ganges in India. We are all aware of the millions of women in India and all over the world need our support to get education and a better life. Our day? Sergej got four fish this morning! The three of us also got a big plate of Russian chocholade each from Jevgenej!
The picture shows the three women on the Rahiti Tane raft, from right to left: Liv, Signe, and Lisa.
(2016-03-07) There are moments in life that will never return. Points in time when you look to the horizon, concentrating to remember. And you know that in ten years, twenty years, you will think back to these minutes and recall what happened there and then. One such moment took place on our floating logs today, after 60 days at sea, on our way to South America 2000 nautical miles away. Why? Because we now know that everything depends on us. And each member of the crew is equally important. One for all. Estimations of our remaining food and water show that the journey will be difficult. But today, just now, all onboard gave their earnest confirmation that they will fight to win, hungry or thirsty, to reach our common goal.
(2016-03-07-signe) There's nothing quite like being woken up by Liv handing me a cup of coffee in bed - and seeing that the wind is filling the sail and we're heading in the right direction again. Happiness! The weather forecast says we have three or four days of good winds ahead of us so I'm looking forward to more such mornings.
(2016-03-06) Tupac is seiling again, after three days of drifting westwards. Our destination is South America, more precisely Valparaiso in Chile. I was there in October last year to gain support for the Expedition. I did so in meetings with the admiralty of the Armada of Chile. They are now monitoring our progress with their search and rescue operation. I also took part in the Our Ocean conference with thousands of others, many whom were concerned about micro-plastic and other threats to our present and future ocean. The Stormberg clothing manufacturer, also a sponsor, is asking the washing machine industry why all the micro-plastics from clothes end up in our oceans. On the photos you can see the blue jackets from Stormberg chosen by the Kon-Tiki2 crew. It is made fronm recycled fabrics. You can also see how we harvest energy from the environment; with solar panels as our energy source we run full-scale oceanographic research on two rafts, covering 6000nm over five months. Every day we collect samples from the sea that NIVA later will analyze for micro-plastics.
(2016-03-05) Onboard Rahiti, we are very happy that our captain Signe has her old school friend Rasmus onboard. They learned the old techniques of sailing traditional open wooden boats at Fosen Folkehøgskole in Norway. Rasmus even built his own "færing", 2-man row- and sailboat, and sailed it back home to Sweden.
When the wind and the weather gets rough, a rope or a brace is breaking, they know what to do and repair it with skills and knots in few minutes. Ola, the captain on Tupac has also his background from the same school, his father was the boatbuilding teacher for eighteen years. Onboard with him are also the expedition leader Torgeir and Roberto that have both sailed a raft before with the Tangaroa expedition in 2006. Former students of the same school built the rafts in Peru. So if you are intetested learning these skills and more; check in on www.fosen.fhs.no
The shows Captain Signe and Rasmus in good teamwork on the aft deck.
(2016-03-05) I have great fun watching my crew-mate Roberto Sala catch fish. He laughs and yells like a child who for the first time feel the power of a fighting fish in the rod. Ten years ago he was just as happy when he finally cautght a fish on Tangaroa. On that voyage, the crew caught fish every day, all crew members except Roberto – although he was fishing more often than the rest of us. "How is it going? Got something?", we used to ask him. His usual answer was "No fish!!". So he was nicknamed No-Fish-Sala. So far on Tupac, the hairy and bearded former naval officer has caught two fish. Only Andrey and myself are stuck with zero. Both of us have sailed more than hundred days on this raft.
(2016-03-04) It's day 3 of drifting backwards, now also with rain as opposed to the sunshine from the past two days. Hopefully this change signifies that the wind will also change soon! To pass the time, we fish, read, eat and sleep.
In picture 1, Rahiti's monkey mascot Balsa prefers to stay inside with his colouring book. In picture 2, Lisa is fishing. Picture 3 shows Liv in her reading cave.
Bearded men
(2016-03-04) Roberto has, like all men onboard the rafts, grown a beard. In this blog post he discusses the benefits and the drawbacks of having a beard on the open ocean.
When I am thinking or mulling over some issues, I enjoy stroking my full beard. It is pleasant to gently push the hairs with the back of my hand and feel a bit of a tickle when the tip of the hairs touch the skin of my chin.
(2016-03-03) I said to my crew fellows: A good thing about drifting backwards is that we can celebrate 99 degrees again today and 98 degrees west one more time later! Always look on the bright side of life!
In the picture, Captain Ola Borgfjord (left) and Torgeir Higraff enjoy some carefully packaged popcorn.
Is Liv Bored?
Liv has started to get emails from friends and family with the questions: Are you bored? How do you cope with the inactivity? What do you do? What do you miss? As a landlubber, how do you cope out there? Read her answer, and find out what she misses most!
(2016-03-03) Team Tupac is drifting westwards in a strong breeze from east. The raft does 1.5 knots without sail. Yesterday a celebration of 98 degrees west. Today back on 99. The picture shows the bearded crew leaning on the yard, which normally holds the sail up.
The two faces of the roaring 40s
(2016-03-02) The rafts have seen strong wind recently, witth a near gale from north-west. They held high speed, covering 28 nautical miles in 8 hours, giving an average of 3.5 knots. Today, however, they saw another side of the roaring forties. Maybe we should call them the purring forties.
(2016-03-01) In a daily routine, plankton and fish go up and down in the sea looking for better conditions. These include seeking solar light for photosynthesis at shallower depths, food availability at another depth, or perhaps less light to hide away from predators that can see and eat them. The Tupac Yupanqui raft (TY) is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to study this phenomena. Underneath ther raft, between two logs, two echosounders from Kongsberg are mounted to study what is known as dial vertical migration (DVM) in the waters where it cruises. A simple battery setup permits this raft to collect acoustic information new in the field of marine acoustic ecology.
Instead of the traditional "ping" of the sonar of submarines from the 70s, the sonars for ecological research on board TY transmit a siren-like sound into the water and can detect plankton up to a few millimeters long at 500m depth. This new technology is broadband, frequecy-modulated (FM) and provides better resolution than traditional "ping", echosounders. Over the last few days, the Tupacs have analyzed the migration of species from deeper to shallower waters and vice versa.
With broad band signals, acoustic fingerprints can be recorded from each individual. It is possible to identify species by the echo they produce, this is, by analizing "how do they echo" the signal that TY transmits. This, together with the activities performed on the sister vessel Rahiti Tane, help the scientists build a more complete frame of the pelagic ecosystem in the middle of the south east Pacific. Later on, these echosounders will describe biotic diversity in the Humboldt current, near the American continent.
[In the first picture, the by-now bearded author can be seen with Tupac's sail. Picture 2-4 show echosounds while at the SIMA shipyard in Peru. Picture 4 is a screenshot of the software calibrating the echsounders, while the last picture shows an ascent of plankton during the night at different intervals. The green plumes are sound scatterers moving from 500m and upwards over time.]
(2016-02-28) At 21:16 UTC, Tupac Yapanqui (one of the rafts in the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition) crossed into 41°S with Rahiti Tane (the other raft) following closely behind. Stable winds from northwest have enabled rapid progress in the past few days. These pictures document life on Tupac Yapanqui. In 1, the raft is seen from above. In 2, the foot of the unknown mast climber can be seen with other crew members below. In 3, the crew reefs the sail, i.e., make it smaller to allow sailing in stronger winds. 4 is a challenge to marine biologists: what kind of fish is it? In 5, Erik and Roberto show off a fresh catch – fishing has been good recently. In 6, Roberto demontrates how a mat, provided by our sponsor 3A Composites, can be turned into a Pacific fitness club on 41° south.
(2016-02-26) In one day, the Tupac Team got more fish than in the seven weeks sailed so far in the return voyage from Easter Island to South America. Jimmy got a tuna, and Erik and Ola supplied the diet with three more fish of another kind. The crew on Tupac has never been eating more food in one day during this voyage, and the lucky fishermen are in heaven. Jimmy got the idea of using stomach content from the tuna as bait on small Mustad hooks. Then, immediately three more fish average size 1,5kg took the bait. The underwater footage from Tupac is stunning and stills from the video are presented here.
(2016-02-25) You always get a little anxious and feel a bit low when the wind turns, reduces to but a mere breeze and we are forced to take the sail down. However, the sail down is a reprieve from the sailing, the wet, cold and the wind as we welcome a clear day and an opportunity to dry our wet gear. With the sail down it gives the crew a chance to relax, do some repair work and for Rasmus and Signe to get their baking on! With the slow death of our oven they took the opportunity to bake and bake and bake. Signe started early on bread rolls, which as the day progressed were becoming irresistible to a ravenous crew. As the bread roll baking came to an end, up steps Rasmus and began an epic roll out of cinnamon rolls. We have never seen so much baked goods in this raft!
The bread rolls became dinner, and served as buns for a our lentil burgers, with enough for 3 each. The cinnamon rolls following dinner were coming out of the oven warm and the cinnamon and sugar warmed your insides and you felt like a child at the bakery. We previously had all dreamed about the food comas that would be induced on return to our homes, we never thought that the same food coma could occur out here on our raft eating the same food we have been dreaming about!
Even the biggest of eaters Sergey passed on another round of cinnamon rolls, and for the last hour we have all sat around the deck like beached whales, trying to move our food babies to a more comfortable position. Rasmus was persistent though and pushed us on with 'get your Obama on 'YES WE CAN!'. But alas we couldn't finish it all, with cinnamon rolls littering the galley and more in the oven, we gave in and let our stomachs rest, with the thought that tomorrow is another day. This has been another great day in the Pacific Ocean and the Rahiti Tane crew are happier than ever.
(2016-02-24) The team on the Tupac Yupanqui balsa raft were about to take down the sail when Pedro called for attention. "Shark! No wait, it is
something else!" Erik was sitting on the roof. He took of his clothes and dived into the sea, followed by Pedro. Torgeir gave Erik a camera and you can see the stunning pictures here. Pedro writes about the fish:
The moon fish (Mola mola) is a large planktivore, one of the largest fish species known. It is regularly encountered in tropical waters and an attraction in ecotourism due to its colossal dimensions. However, the individual seen in the pictures measured around 70cm total length. Its relatively small size and high curiosity about the raft and the swimmers around it might be indicatives of a juvenile, immature, and careless about predators. Furthermore, a pelagic environment with temperate (as opposed to tropical) waters, like that TY is sailing on now, might be a safer location for a young to grow to maturity before it heads to its preferred adult habitat. Interestingly, the last 3 days, the Kongsberg echosounders had picked up the signal of "something" that has been sailing with the raft at around 50m. This "something" in the echogram matched the acoustic characteristics of a bony fish. Then, the mola mola could be that "something", feeding on the layer of plankton (also being studied with the echosounders) and sheltering itself with the raft. More sightings of this fellow could confirm that the Tupacs have a new type of follower and company.
One hour later the team experienced a peculiar event. The albatross
that has been visiting the raft every day the last week decided to
land. He (we assume it is a male) was very interested in the safety
buoy. Several times he used his beak, gently touching the yellow buoy.
This lasted until Erik decided to get closer to the giant bird by
swimming underwater. The albatross sensed something and flied up in
the air, a second before Erik popped up from the ocean.
Both animals are of the largest kind in their group. We cherished a day with giants.
(2016-02-23) The biggest news of the past week is that we made it the Roaring Forties and we are finally east of Easter Island. From a week that started with a few days of no wind to constantly having wind at our backs we are a happy crew and the food is still proving to be just as good.
As at today we have two onions left, enough potatoes for 3 meals and we are starting to get into our dried and tinned products as we make our way into week 7. We had been lucky enough to not only catch a mahimahi the previous week, we also have a school of small fish that follow the raft and Mr Orlav our Russian photographer has been catching these for dinner when they are active. Signe has been a master chef again and spoilt us with lentil burgers on our sail down day and they were the best burgers we had ever eaten, couple that with some wedges and we had an amazing dinner plated on Sunday!
The Chocolate mudcake has become a staple treat and everyones eyes light up when Rasmus offers to make it for us. It just keeps getting better and better. We celebrated reaching the roaring forties and being east of easter island with falafels for dinner, and also treated oursleves to Cappucino's that Signe had brought for all of us and Norwegian Marzipan pigs from Asker. Needless to say, we were a smiling happy crew. We have also had a new crew member Erland who swapped from Tupac with Pedro for the week, he is not regretting the move having caught our best food week yet! Here is our menu:
Thursday - Mahimahi prepared 2 ways with rice, Sashimi and, Garlic and Lemon infused seared pieces
Fri - Indian Daal
Sat - Spaghetti bolognese
Sun - Lentil burgers with sides of wedges
Mon - Coconut curry beans with rice, accompanied by Russian Seared Fish
Tues - Faves aux vin a la pacifique with baked bread and mudcake
Wed - Pacific garlic and onion soup
Thurs - Falafels with rice
Fri - Potato and bean curried soup
Sat - Spaghetti bolognese
Coming to the end of Week 6, I am undertaking another stocktake of all food on board to be sure of quantities as we look ahead 5-6 weeks. Making sure that we have enough food to carry us through is important and we need to be on top of this more than ever. We have had a loss of 10kg of rice to the sea due to water inside bags and boxes, and we are now holding food in stronger bags and boxes so this doesn't happen again. Our oven is also beginning to deteriorate, so in anticipation of its complete demise we are now baking bread everyday, and saving other food for later. Signe, Rasmus and I have been taking turns on our watches to get bread baked for lunch. The smell of bread wafting through the raft in the early hours is heavenly out here. We have a few weeks left and we are keeping spirits up and bellies full as we push East to Chile!
(2016-02-23) Plastics in our modern societies are an almost fundamental commodity of daily life. In order to improve the quality of materials that we use – for example to pack our food – we need to understand their cycle of usage. The Tupac Yupanqui raft (TY) is following up a program of plastic collection in the ocean that tells us where, what type, and how much of some of these plastics end their cycles in a geographical location where no humans, but balsa wood raft sailors, ever visit: the middle of the south-eastern Pacific.
Credit for this activity is attributed to Andrey Chesnokov. Gladly, almost every other day, he stops whatever he is doing to deploy a net known as the manta trawl astern of TY. It is a "manta" because it filters particles from the sea surface in a similar way than that one the elasmobranch named after does. After two hours of trawling, Andrei retrieves the net and analyses the contents for plastics. The task is not easy and is time consuming. He finds plastics among plankton, stingy jellyfish tentacles, fish, eggs of many species and the parts of the vessel, sysal rope and balsa wood, as it disintegrates in the cruise. In this occasion, featued in the picture, an amphipod was caught among the sample contents.
Identification of the types of plastics that reach this remote locations help researchers in the fields of material technology to canalize efforts to develop better substitutes for those polymers that endure through time and do not degrade easily, and yet provide us with the daily life commodity of plastics. In this way, the kontiki2 expedition serves as an opportunity vessel and provides NIVA and NTNU with valuable samples for quality research. After the time consuming process of sorting contents out, Andrey prepares the net for the next deployment and awaits eagerly until is time for it. As the vessel approaches the continent, the task might become more and more interesting.
(2016-02-18) Yummy meals are served on Tupac Yapanqui. In picture 2, Erlend is serving dinner in a gale. In 3, Jimmy is woodworking in what must be our most popular watch, from 8PM until midnight. In 4, Andrey makes the guares easier to handle – using ropes. Picture 5 shows
jellyfish caught by an empty water bottle. 6 shows the view from the cabin of Tupac Yupanqui. Pedro is visiting the Tupac team and in 7 he is uploading captured data from Kongsberg echo sounders. In 8, The Rahiti Tane is photographed from Tupac. In a transfer of crew, Pedro went aboard Tupac and Sergey moves back to his fellows on Rahiti. Almost every night we have situations where "a bed disappears in
ocean" or "cascades of water are coming up between the beds". Andrey is a
true fixer of these problems, as can be seen in 10. Captain Ola Borgfjord, what are you thinking about in picture 11?
In 12, Torgeir's version of quinoa balls are cooked and will be served with brown souce and
mashed potatoes. In 13, Torgeir realizes that pairs of socks is a thing of the past.
The sun shines on TV
(2016-02-19) Captain Signe Meling is interviewed live over a decent satellite connection in this newsclip from TV2. In her native Norwegian, with Haugesund dialect, she descibes how the rafts have worked their way southwards, how every sock is wet, and the food situation on board. While she speaks, TV viewers can watch footage from the first leg of the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition.
(2016-02-19) These photographs offer glimpses into the daily life on the Tupac Yapanqui raft. And non-so daily: the first picture shows Erik with the second fish caught on the this leg. In the third picture, Expedition doctor Sergey is seen with Roberto. In picture 7, Torgeir is seen analyzing the contents of the Manta trawl. Finally, Pacific sunsets never go out of style.
(2016-02-18) In a milestone event, the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition crossed into the roaring 40s today. No balsa raft has been this far south in modern times, and the crew is celebrating the event. Weather forecasts for the next week is good with steady winds from the west, just like we hoped and expected. The rafts use these winds to sail towards South America in an epic roundtrip voyage. In the pictures, the Jotron AIS transceiver bears testament to the position of Tupac Yupanqui, and her crew is seen celebrating.
(2016-02-16) The rafts of the Kon-Tiki2 expedition are on their second leg, from Easter Island to South America. To reach westernly winds and currents, the Expedition has sailed southwards from Easter Island and the rafts are now close to the "roaring 40s" where prevailing winds come from west. However, this being an El Nino year, prevailing winds are not always prevailing. After several days of rapid sailing in the right direction, the winds suddenly turned today and the rafts are drifting backwards in a gale. Big waves now hit the deck and cabin, as can be seen in these pictures from Tupac Yupanqui. The forecast, however, looks good and the Expedition can expect steady westernly winds to return within a day.
(2016-02-16) One could expect that a month on board a slowly moving raft in the Pacific, with nothing else to watch but endless rows of waves and and some seabirds, would turn anybody to a "live in the present" carpe diem zen guru with a degree in mindfulness. However, as a sailor, the harsh reality is that you are usually in quite the opposite mindset. No matter how hard you try to enjoy downwind and sun, your brain is often occupied with thinking about repairs, improvements, preparations for gales to come, weather forecasts and ... wait a second, what is that noise? Some kind of chafing? Something moving out of place? And even if you have taken care of some of the weak spots that the ocean found during the last tough weather, you push your imagination to keep one step ahead of the big blue, eliminating weak spots that could become problematic in the future.
The last couple of days have been some of the best since we left for South America. The moderate downwind has been steady for a longer period than ever before, the steering has been almost automatic, Tupac has been well within sight, fish are jumping into our pot, and the sun has been shining while the temperature has remained pleasant. This was not what I thought I could expect when I joined the expedition, but definitely what I hoped for. We have mended all the decks and things would have been perfect, if it was not for that worrying sound from the mast.
I'm afraid that I will have to be a bit technical at this point. Depending on the craft a mast can have many different positions, shapes and characteristics (in most cases they point more or less upwards). The masts of our two balsa rafts are pretty plain however and are supposed to point straight upwards. Yet, having a rigging of natural fiber poses a problem. The ropes are very prone to stretch, and in order to keep the mast in place, we have to tighten the stays and shrouds as soon as they become slack. Stretching stays is not a challenge in its own, but the rigging is designed to put up with strong downwinds. Therefore, we have 4 shrouds and 2 backstays, in total 6 points, that are all keeping the mast from moving forward (while also balancing it sideways). On the other hand, the position of the sail does not allow us to have more than 2 forestays, that prevent the mast from moving backwards. In the long run, this means that every time we tighten the stays and shrouds, this bias will, little by little, lean the mast backwards. The crew of the first leg got aware of the problem, so before we left Easter Island we made sure that the mast was leaning a lot forward. However, we did not know if we would have the possibility to repeat the procedure while at open sea.
The last couple of days, the mast has started to make squeaking sounds, which has been an indicator that it is starting to lean too much backwards. However, the forestays have been tight, not allowing any shortening, while the aft stays and shrouds have become more and more slack. Yet, as explained above, we have felt reluctant to tighten them. As a temporary solution Signe decided to move one of the shrouds a bit forward on port side, but the sail prevented us from doing the same on starboard side, and it was not a permanent solution anyhow. So yesterday, fueled by lentil patty burgers and good weather, we finally decided to take the bull by the horns and see if we could make the mast lean forward. However, to be able to do so we had to give some slack in the shrouds and aft stays, and we also had to lower the sail as the halyard functions as a stay in itself when the sail is hoisted all the way up. Even though the conditions were good, it was a bit scary to give up some of the control over the movements of the mast, and it was moving quite considerably. As Signe and I started to work, Liv was quick to join in. Lisa had to take over Liv's job while she was recovering after I banged my shoulder to her forehead (by mistake, I swear) whilst tying a rolling hitch. She recovered quickly and eventually everybody on board got involved in the stretching of the stays. In the end we managed to get the mast upright and the noises dissipated. It might seem like a small detail, but the knowledge that it was possible made us all really happy. As we got rid of one worrying factor, we took a small step on the way to that "live in the present" paradise. Thats all the worries for now, unless we come up with some new problems ... which I doubt will be very hard!
(2016-02-16-food) We have had a week of weather that has taken us from the wet, to the cold, to the gale, and back to the sunshine and calm seas. With changeable weather, our effort around cooking changes as in the cold you crave carbs, spice and heat, when the temperature goes up and you feel relaxed and dry so to does the menu change.
We have had a really fun week overall experimenting with cakes and food, but the highlight of the week would have to be that Sergey caught our first fish. A nice sized Dorado (Mahimahi) that fed the troop for a good couple of days. The first meal was fried fish mexican style for lunch, then a Mahimahi Russian Boullion at dinner and ending with a version of NZ Fish and chips, served with a lemon and caper dressing, was all divine and pretty special to be eating such a delicacy out here, fresh and in the open ocean. Being close to Norwegian celebration for Easter Signe made 2 dozen "boller" buns for the crew. They were the best buns I have eaten in a long time, and she baked these whilst trying to repair decking and getting our raft back in shape after the gale.
I tried a Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe from home, which was delicious. Light fluffy cake with a hint of lemon, drizzled with a lemon sugar syrup that seeped through the cake and giving the delicate cake a real zing. Rasmus' Chocolate Mud Cake was Signes cake request on her birthday, with her favourite pasta for dinner, and a spoil from Liv of Norwegian Goat Cheese for lunch. Liv and I were on watch that morning and she had to listen to our beautiful birthday singing as we served her a cappucino and almond cake as a pre-breakfast treat. Our dinners would look good on any table this week and we ate like kings!
Thurs - Falafel, honeybaked potatoes, quinoa and lentils and Lemon Drizzle Cake for dessert
Fri - Indian Daal with White Rice
Sat - Spaghetti Bolognese
Sun - Lentilles aux vin a la Pacifique and "boller" buns
Mon - Coconut Curry with Peruvian Beans on White Rice
Tues - Dorado, NZ fish and chips with Lemon and Caper Dressing and Mahimahi Boullion
Wed - Creamy Garlic and Mushroom Spaghetti and Dr Fredrik Wikström Chocolate Mud Cake for dessert
The one meal that often gets a little short of creativity at the moment is lunch. We make fresh bread every second day, but we lose a bit of inspiration to pair it with a dish. So the effort this week will be focusing on lunch ideas and getting a bit more inspired about what to make at this time of the day.
(2016-02-14) After several weeks with an empty horizon Tupac showed up a few days ago. Over the last days we've sailed slowly closer to each other and yesterday we managed to meet. On Rahiti we took the wind out of the sail, slowing down and thus allowing Tupac to catch up from behind. Just as they were about 50 meters behind us we let the sail fill and steered a parallel course. Tupac caught onto the yellow safety line trailing behind us, and we could exchange crew. Dr Sergey packed his bag and got into the dinghy with ferryman Pedro and together they pulled themselves along the line to Tupac. There, photographer Erlend was ready and jumped into the dinghy, taking Sergey's place.
So far the maneuver had gone very well. Captain Ola on Tupac steered the raft well past Rahiti and onwards - full control. We were just a tiny bit to slow in realizing that their yellow safety line passed under our raft and got stuck on a guaraboard. During the first leg of Kontiki2 Ola and David devised a challenge. It was to jump into the water in front of the raft, dive down and swim under the raft, coming back up in the wake aft of the raft. The faster the raft sailed the easier it would get. This was a fun game, and we soon needed new challenges. The next was to dive down in the aft, swim forward and grab onto one of the guaraboards under water. Yesterday this went from being a game to being a very useful skill, as the only way to free the safety line was by pulling it off the guaraboards from below. The pressure from the line was so great that it wasn't possible to just lift the guara. Pedro and I jumped into the water with divingmasks and little by little freed the line from guaras and scientific equipment.
The plan is to have Erlend stay with us on Rahiti for a few days before delivering him back to his fellows on Tupac.
(2016-02-13) The crew on R/V Rahiti Tane (RT) have used Pacific weather to deploy their instruments over board. Footage of abundant nocturnal plankton right under the hull (if the term applies appropriately) of the raft was obtained. Specimen samples from this section of the water column have been collected with the plankton net featured in previous publications. The pictures portray one cnidarian, or medusa, located around 10m deep at 0100h local time. Large dorados are curious but shy to the staging strobes of the Sperre Deepbot and so are squid and other fish whose silhouette can be seen from the surface only. The guts and blood of a recently caught dorado were used as an attraction for large predators, but none showed up. Calm wind conditions allowed the crew for more activities.
In a beaufort 0 sea state, the sea surface mirrors clouds when seen from above or fish and plankton from below the water. Diurunal plankton that are not very afraid of being eaten in plain daylight, are easy to spot. The neuston and pleuston are groups within plankton that drift on or right underneath, respectively, the surface; they sail with the wind. A flat sea allowed the observer to easily spot some species in these groups. The siphonophore man'owar is commonly encountered in the sea, but also on board RT. There are others like that jellyfish portrayed in the picture next to the raft. That day, a navy of hundreds of individuals surrounded the vessel. However, a stationary raft allowed for more.
Five stones attached to a CTD were casted down from the port side of RT. A time lapse of the enduring actvivity was taken from the mast, and one photo is shared. an electric motor is installed in the rafts center. It assists with the retrieval of instruments. One member creates tension on the spool side, starboard, of the motor. Anotjer one loops the excess because the line is retrieved faster than it is rolled into the bobbin. This is specially noticeable when all the line, approx 3.5km, is out and each coil is around the bobbins axel diameter only. One more rotates the bobbin by the sail to store the line. This process improves everytime and the crew becomes more and more experienced in deep casting. 2.8km of water where profiled. The stones came back full of sand and the bathymetric map indicates a depth between 2.7 and 3.1km. A sunset clean to the horizon, with stratocumulus clouds at mid heights, dorados jumping in the background, and a warm fish dinner were the reward for the hard working crew.
(2016-02-12) During the last days we have had little or no wind, so the sail has been taken down and we have been drifting awaiting better conditions that will allow us to get further south, so that we can continue eastwards. In the middle of all the deck mending we have also been focusing a bit on the life below the decking. Not only the the shark that newly hit the headlines (rumors has it that it most probably was a planktivorous species, one that feeds on plankton instead of raft sailors), but also the 10 dorados or mahimahi, as they are also called, that have been circling the raft the last days. Through the calm sea surface we could see the bodies of the big fishes as they completed yet another lap around us. And when we were tired of watching they would call for our attention by jumping and splashing.
Personally I'm way to impatient to spend more than 3 minutes with a fishing rod, so I'm impressed by Pedro that spent hour after hour trying to catch one. First with little success, but all of a sudden one early morning a hungry dorado actually took the bait! Pedro struggled to get it close enough so that we could grab it with the hook, but unfortunately, the fish got away. The bait was taken two times more but our prey managed to escape both times. Pedro looked frustrated and as the sun rose, it seemed like the dorados got uninterested.
Inspired by the almost successful attempts of Pedro, Sergey grabs a rod. It takes a couple of minutes, the sea surface is dead calm, the sun is slowly climbing the sky. But somewhere beneath the surface a dorado cannot resist the bait any more and Sergey shouts that he has something on the hook. Pedro, that has not lost his hunting instinct, grabs the large hook and quick as a cobra he managed to hook the fish before it swims under the raft. Once its on board, we try to get a towel over the eyes of the dorado, a way to make them calm according to our fishery mentor Jimmy aboard Tupac. We did not really get the towel where we wanted, but eventually we manage to get the fish under control.
It was with great happiness two of the main characters of the drama posed with the third one, that by this time was not able to feel anything at all. "Omega 3 vitamin" Sergey concluded with the 118 cm dorado in his hand and a smile almost as wide upon his face. Even when working as a fisherman, our ship doctor is always concerned about the health of his fellow crew members.
The rest of the crew smiled almost as wide when Pedro served garlic fried fresh dorado for lunch, and I found myself jiggling of joy when Lisa later served fish and chips for dinner. Bones and fins were cooked into a Russian styled bouillon, while Pedro kindly provided the rest of the fish some space in the scientific freezer for later consumption.
(2016-02-12) Captain's birthday, my friends, is a big day. Any vessel, and especially a balsa raft, stuck in the calm in mid-Pacific in the 37th degree and 02 minutes of the south latitude and 111th degree and 08 minutes of the west longitude looks different due to the festive mood on this day.
The morning begins with coffee made in a coffee pot, surprises and presents to her who sleeps least of all, gets tired most of all, every moment understanding, like any other captain, that she will be the first who will see a rock that might come out of the fog and the last who will leave the raft in case (Heaven forbid!) it is destroyed.
Lunch with freshly-baked bread and Norwegian cheese which has been in store for this day smoothly slides into dinner and swimming among crowds of birthday guests surrounding the raft – here we can see jellyfish of all shades, alone and in groups, crabs aiming at getting closer to the festive table and climbing right on our legs, spies from submarines (in fact this is our filmmaker Evgeny), small shoals of fish bustling in and out between the logs and groups of big dorados which create a festive atmosphere with their rainbow colors...
The presents are being taken out of the dark corners, not expensive, but very nice and unique because they weren't bought in advance but became presents here on the raft. Rasmus is putting a chocolate cake made by himself into the oven. The music pouring out from small acoustic speakers is turned down a bit and before supper we've prepared a real performance played by all the crewmates. Now let's get started to a guitar accompaniment...
Doctor Goltsov:
Hello, hello, my names Joe Monroe.
And I'm calling from Indiana.
Can I speak to Diana, please?
Am I speaking to my Diana?
Liv replies:
Oh, no, no, no! I'm not Diana.
I think you have got
The wrong number, my friend,
You've dialed the Rahiti Tane.
Rasmus, once again:
Hello, hello, my names Joe Monroe.
And I'm calling from Indiana.
Can I speak to Diana, please?
Am I speaking to my Diana?
Lisa, keeping on playing the guitar, in a whining voice:
Oh, no, no, no! I'm not Diana.
I think you have got
The wrong number, my friend,
You've dialed the Rahiti Tane.
Pedro can't rest:
Hello, hello, my names Joe Monroe.
And I'm calling from Indiana.
Can I speak to Diana, please?
Am I speaking to my Diana?
The filmmaker Evgeny filming all that:
Stop, stop, stop, stop... :)
And all together, in chorus:
Oh, no, no, no! There is no Diana!
You've dialed the birthday party
Of Signe Meiling
Captain of Rahiti Tane!
(2016-02-10) As the medical doctor of the expedition, Sergey Goltsov always keeps an eye on the crew of Rahiti Tane, treating all small wounds (hopefully we won't get any big ones) and trying to limit the risks that anyone gets hurt. Putting a lot of effort in his duties, it hence seems logical that Sergey was the one that spotted the big grey shark that swam by the raft this afternoon. Nobody was in the water for the moment, so it was a happy rather than alarmed shouting of "Shark! Shark!" that was heard over the raft.
We all ran to the edge of the raft to have a closer look. Although I was safely standing on the deck, looking down on the big fish (around 2,5 meter long) when it swam by the raft less than a meter away, I felt both in awe and some chills along my back bone. Regardless of being on the upside of the water surface, my brain had no problems what so ever to imagine how it would feel to meet that razor-toothed hunter in the water. The perfectly shaped body, agile and fast, with the sharp and deadly end coming towards me. I imagined me, trying to get out of the water in a clumsy fashion, waving with all the limbs and pieces that might pose as an interesting bait for the predator from the deep seas. I wonder if I will dare to see a generic pirate movie ever again.
At least dr Goltsov does not have to worry about treating me for lost limbs due to shark attacks. From now on I will benefit from the rafts many options to wash ones self, in the safe space between the cross section balsa logs, protected by the long ship balsa logs that run below. Just another benefit of sailing a vessel that is half way submerged.
(1) Torgeir On his nightwatch, thinking about another five weeks on the raft.
(2) Erlend, film photographer. The director of the documentary about Kon-Tiki2.
(3) Wet on front deck.
(4) Andrey don't see the point in shaving.
(5) Erik does not want to get cold during his watch.
(6) The albatross keeps visiting Tupac.
(7) Garbage floating in the sea, seen from the raft every day. This one is a light bulb.
(2016-02-08) Thursday, Friday and Saturday were three wild days in the Southern Pacific. A gale hit us, peaking Friday evening with winds up to 40 knots. The seas grew with every hour, amounting to somewhere around 5-6 meters. Friday afternoon we took two reefs in the sail, and just as we had finiahed a gigantic wave hit us from behind. This wave lifted everything, moved it, and set it back down.
The worst damage was on our port side, where equipment weighing around 400 kg was lifted. The decks under the equipment fell down between the logs, and so the water plywood box with water bottles, deepsea robot and more fell down between the logs as well. The wave also created a large hole in the deck under the galley, and broke several other decks.
The wave was not a polite and shy visitor, it forced its way into the cabin as well. Several bed boxes fell down between the logs as a result of this, giving people a very crooked and unstable bed for the night. The fact that all our sleeping bags and clothes also got wet didn't make the situation any better, and it was a cold and dreary night.
Early Sunday morning the wind both eased and turned SE, and so we took the sail down. Sunday was spent repairing, a slow process in the complete chaos. After a long day of work the raft started looking like a raft again, and it's now possible to walk on deck again rather than jump from box to box between the debris. Today, Monday the work continues, repairing the decks under the galley and outside the cabin door, where there is now only a large hole.
Damage aside, we sailed far during the gale. In the 24 hours between midnight Friday and midnight Saturday we sailed 81.2 nautical miles! We made it to 37° 39' south! Now we face a new challenge: the forecast says we'll have close to no wind for the next five days. At least that gives us time to repair and get ready for the next round.
(2016-02-06) As the crew on Tupac Yupanqui were about to mark the first month
at sea, wind speed suddenly rose from 20 to 40 knots which is strong
gale. The front deck was washed by a huge wave that almost took our
kitchen to the sea. Inside the cabin, a wooden box with cups, forks,
knives and spoons was lost. Also, the wave pushed its way into the
bookshelf and our precious collection of nautical books from Flyt Forlag ended up on deck.
Ola started the rescue operation by ordering two reefs in the sail.
There was no damage to rig nor sail. Erik and Torgeir has their
personal spoons and cups. The rest of the guys need to find more
creative ways of eating soup. Dinner today at Tupac is Real Turmat.
In the first picture, Roberto is seen with the dismantled kitchen on deck. Picture 2 and 3 show a dynamic sea around the Tupac Yupanqui raft.
A Russian doctor is a doctor and so much more
By Anna Turchaninova and Nadya Artemieva
(2016-02-06) Soviet doctor Yuri Senkevich was a part of Thor Heyerdahl's Ra (1969),
Ra-2 (1970) and Tigris (1977-1978) expeditions. Through his
professionalism along with amazing interpersonal and presentation
skills, Yuri has not just promoted Soviet-Norwegian friendship and the
whole Thor Heyerdahl story. Being a military doctor in those darker
times, he was also a person with a truly global mindset. As a TV
journalist and host of the extremely popular «Travelers' club» (a TV
show aired for over 30 years on Central Television), he would open the
world without borders to Soviet people.
As a tribute to Yuri Senkevich, Torgeir Higraff, the leader of Kon-Tiki
2 mission, has invited two Russian doctors — Boris Romanov and Sergey
Goltsov — to participate in his project. Boris Romanov sailed aboard
Rahiti Tan from South America to Rapa Nui, and Sergey Goltsov took his
place on the raft for the second leg of the expedition. Both have
proved to fit well in Senkevich's shoes. Qualified doctors with
extensive experience in athletic and extreme medicine, they are also
investing substantial time and effort in making the expedition more
visible to the public.
Sergey Goltsov is a storytelling gem. His daily reports (that keep
coming in spite of poor connection and other technical difficulties)
are full of vivid metaphors and poetic imagery to convey the power of
the Ocean and emotional diversity of the team. 'Just another regular
day on the raft' becomes a real adventure for lucky Russian readers!
Boris Romanov is a truly charismatic presenter. Upon his return from
Rapa Nui to Moscow, he was interviewed several times and has recently
hosted a mind-blowing public presentation at the State Darwin Museum.
Boris showed some pictures of Kon-Tiki 2 and told stories — abundant
with detail and medical humor. «I decided to rather be a bad sailor
than a good doctor, and it worked. We didn't have many health
emergencies, I suck at tying knots, the fish is afraid of me, so I
mostly did the dishes and assisted the heroic women of Rahiti Tane in
handling night watches and navigation». Boris has compared managing the
guara boards with playing a trombone, but he himself is a saxophone
person and prefers a different approach to raft sailing. He says one
should let the raft sail with the wind and the current, then adjust the
course substantially, and keep sailing with minimal interference.
Exhausted with constant humidity and having lost 12 kilos of weight,
Boris already dreams of going back. He is convinced that Kon-Tiki 2
will accomplish its mission and reach South America, even if it happens
later than expected. We stay tuned for Sergey Goltsov's reports!
[The pictures above were taken during Boris' speech in the State Darwin Museum in Moscow last week. Except the first, that is: Boris played the saxophone before the Kon-Tiki2 expedition]
(2016-02-05) While Jimmy aboard Tupac, inspired by Herman Melvilles classic novel Moby Dick, is going Captain Ahab on the fishes around their raft, the crew aboard Rahiti has a more relaxed attitude towards fishing. Besides the scientific sampling led by Pedro, and his attempts with the fishing rod, we have tried to outsource the fisheries to the ocean it self.
Sometimes it does not pay off in a culinary way though, as when a Portuguese man of war (a type of jellyfish) yesterday got stuck in the wakes between the logs in the aft. The waves threw it back and forth tearing the tentacles of the poor thing. When it was disarmed a little wave served it to us by lifting it up on the decks. An excellent opportunity for taking pictures of this fascinating creature that occasionally has passed us by the last few weeks. Pedro, eventually picked it up with a pincer for a closer examination and now the little predator is lying in state inside a plastic bottle on our deck.
From a nutritional point of view, we had better luck last night when a 25 cm squid took a hike aboard the raft. Liv caught it and thought it could be used as bait later on. Well, for the lazy fisherman it is also a possibility to eat the bait yourself. Pedro took the opportunity to show off his Jamie Oliver skills, by slicing up and frying the squid in oil. We added some garlic and had soy sauce as a salivating dip. O, the taste was almost divine! Would have been a waste to feed it to the dorados.
By the way, the animal life is increasing in abundance around the raft as we go south, to more productive waters. Besides the already mentioned dorados, of which we saw one jumping after fly fish yesterday, sea birds are becoming increasingly common. And today we also saw an albatross. It would be fun to see whales again though. In that case, let's hope that Jimmy does not get too inspired by captain Ahab and grabs the nearest harpoon.
(2016-02-04) A fine batch of Erlend's photographs made it through the satellites today. In these pictures, the brave men on Tupac Yupanqui are shown in their everyday activities. Ola can be seen in the first five pictures. At the end, the Jotron AIS receiver marks the position when then pictures were taken.
(2016-02-04) Low winds can bring the morale down because they extend our time to reach land. However, they also give the crew on Rahiti a scientific scenario. Plankton, species that are transported by the ocean currents, is everywhere on our path. The Pacific might look empty, but a careful eye will soon find out that the blue hides secrets. We try to unveil some of them.
During a regular night watch the observer can get attracted to bioluminiscent organisms in the sea. These are animals and plants that generate light when perturbed by the raft. One of our activities is to collect them. We are equipped with a net that has a very small grid. When the wind is weak, we don't move very fast. This is the ideal condition to deploy the net so that it doesn't brake from pulling too much. Also the specimens inside do not get crushed by a strong pulling raft. After an hour of patience we can collect the surface plankton sample. In a lab, we will be able to analyze them under the microscope.
We also filter out of the water the organisms that are capable of using the sun to generate their own food, the phytoplankton. They give us an idea of how much oxygen is produced and how much the pelagic ecosystem can produce; they are the basis of the food web. Finally, we extract DNA out of the water. The sea is a soup of cells and bacteria. They represent a library of genes available in the ocean. It is there in the blue, but we can't see it with our eyes. While Tupaq extracts macrofauna, dorados, to eat them, we extract microflora and fauna from the sea to study them.
In the first picture, you can see a greenish circle in the filter. This is condensed evidence that we are surrounded and outnumbered in the middle of the Pacific. The net is one of the tools provided by NIVA to help us better understand our environment. The photographic material is a courtesy of Evgenij Orlov.
35 degrees south!
(2016-02-03) Rahiti Tane today passed 35° south on its way to the roaring 40s where the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition hopes to find westernly winds that will bring the rafts towards South America. The other raft, Tupac Yupanqui, is also expected to pass the invisible line sometimes today. Both rafts have satellite-based trackers which report the position every 30 minutes. Therefore, you can follow the rafts' movements on the maps linked from this page.
(2016-02-02) The Pacific winds and waves are playing with us. Friday night we had strong winds and our top speed was 6.5 knots! When the wind turned southernly Saturday around noon, we took down the sails. We are now drifting slowly northwards and the weather forecast is not promising. The strong wind creates waves up to 5 meters. When they hit the deck, the bamboo and the mats fracture. Every day we make repairs but the waves continue to damage our deck – often with great success.
Last week was a week with low pressure and rainshowers. Everything got humid. Saturday the sun came back and we dried out sleeping bags and clothes. We have a dream to reach the fourties on February, 10th, which is Captain Signe's birthday. To do so, we need maximum luck with the winds. No matter our position, we are looking forward to the birthday party!
The last two days I've been reading Steven Callahan and John Caldwell's books. Callahan survived 76 days on a lifeboat after his boat sank. He survived thanks to his practical skills and mental strength. Caldwell, who had no sailing experience, bought a sailboat in Panama after the last world war to get to his wife in Australia. On his way he practised and learned to sail and navigate. His mast broke in a storm and he drifted for months. He managed to catch a few fish and birds, but also cooked his military boots, his belt, ate lipstick and drank motor oil to survive. Recommended books for sailors and armchair sailors.
The first fish!
By Jimmy
(2016-02-01-fish) You can call me Ishmael. That's how Herman Melville starts his classic novel Moby Dick. The situation on board Tupac had started to resemble that of captain Ahab's ship. Except he was going crazy over one particular Whale. We, or at least I, were going crazy over any fish. Twenty five days of nothing but the occasional squid or unidentified deep sea fish. All we had seen of the big pelagics was a lone Dorado playing along the raft. Uninterested in our more and more desperate attempts at catching it. At the final stages of desperation I resorted to using Serrano ham as bait. No result.
Then, today, amidst the biggest waves and the strongest winds of the second leg. It appeared again. A quiet small female Dorado, playing in the waves along the raft. Almost surfing. It's beautiful emerald body shining beneath the surface. The Penn rod was ready to be used. But as soon as I had it in my hand ready to pursue, the Dorado was gone. Cursed! I assumed a position overlooking the windward side of our raft. Sun from behind me to be able to see my prey. After about twenty minutes a much bigger bull dorado appeared as a silhouette in one of the waves. When the waves are high enough you can actually se the fish inside the towering wave. Like an aquarium. I made a cast maybe ten meters in front of the bull. He darted forward and took the bait. Like out of reflex. I tried to set the hook but the bait came flying at me. The Dorado disappeared. I threw again and again. But he seemed Uninterested. Or maybe he had felt the hook and didn't like it. Who would?
I changed tactics and used a small fish with a Mustad circle hook. Letting it skip just at the surface. Minutes turned to hours. When suddenly the bull came thrashing trough the waves towards my bait. But for some reason the bull shone away. Lurking some ten meters away. I tried to cast the bait closer. He pursued trying to take it. I free lined to let him take it easier. He took it. With the circle hook you should not set the hook. Just tighten the line. I let him almost swallow the bait before I did that. I could feel his weight. But he didn't seem to react. Just swam lazily away. I put on some pressure, he answered with a forceful rush of fifty meters ending in a spectacular jump. He took line as if it was nothing. When he had taken some three hundred meters I managed to get him to start swimming along the raft rather than from it. A big win since he had already taken all the fireline. Just some monofilament line to protect the spool left. He continued to jump. Wasting a lot of his energy. I gained little, but so did he. After a while he decided to go deep. I lost what little line I had and was forced to apply all pressure needed to stop him. He caved before the equipment or I did.
The most critical moment was still to come. The landing. Thanks to the steely nerves of the Tupac crew we managed to gaff him and put a towel around his head with ease. Dorados suddenly stop flapping about when you do that. Odd. The drama took maybe twenty minutes. The fish being rather big, just as the waves and the wind today. As we fishermen say when we caught one: tails up!
2450 meters!
By Pedro(2016-01-29) Today the crew on R/V Rahiti Tane sent the Sperre Deepbot camera and the CTD to 2450 meters below the raft. Winds were unsuitable for sailing, and the sail was therefore lowered. The instruments, the kevlar line and its bobbin, the electrical winch and the crew got themselves ready immediately afterwards. The operation began at 0100hrs in the universal time UTC, or one hour before sunset. It took 5 hours to spool, first out and then in, almost 4000m of kevlar line. The downcast, technically easier and less energy demanding, took 1.5hrs and the effort of 3 people. Retrieving the instrument demanded full concentration of everybody onboard. They dealt with knots in the line, stuck pulleys, tangled lose line and the tension of a load that included the 10kg bot, 3kg CTD and 10kg rocks as weights. Effective communication, periodical task rotation and properly working instruments and installation resulted in a succesful operation.
The temperature in abyssal depths drops to 2 degrees in the Celcius scale. Three and a half hours of footage were recorded during the cast by the spherical glass-housed Deepbot. Equipped with two intense led strobes, the deepbot brought to the surface visual evidence of plankton, marine snow and possibly macrofauna, which can be situated with its depth and water physical properties: oxygen, fluorescence, and salinity. A shiny sea surface around the raft, illuminated by the strobes in the middle of an overcast dark night, was a rewarding landscape for the crew indicating the near conclusion of the operation. Both instruments are ready for the next dive. The following morning allowed the overexcercised crew to rest through a pleasant morning, and a harmonius sunrise with a delightfully calm sea.
The picture is a courtesy by our photographer Orlov. The crew gathers around the instruments to celebrate an exciting and demanding activity on board.
[Håkon adds, from a dry place on land: congratulations to Pedro and the Rahiti crew! You have achieved something truly remarkable in the history of oceanography. You beat our previous record of 2046 metres, and you did so with a huge payload, in the dark! The knots on the rope are unfortunate artefacts stemming from the kevlar spaghetti, but I'm happy that the triple fishermen we tied are holding up. Remember, there's a video projector on Tupaq Yapanqi which can project the deep-water footage on the mainsail!]
Tactics
(2016-01-28) Erik writes:
What is the correct way? After some good wind, we decided to take down the sail and just drift. The wind is now east/south but it's supposed to go back to northern later today. The picture of Torgeir shows how we are trying to keep a good mood by doing silly things.
Signe writes:
Sailing from 30 to 40 degrees south is a bit like playing red light green light. The area is dominated by a large high pressure system and every few days a small low pressures passes by, from west to east. This means that we have two or three days of good northwesterly wind until it all of a sudden weakens and turns to southwest, then southeast. After about 12 hours it comes back to northwest. Having vessels that sail relatively slow and can't beat very close to the wind our tactics so far have been to lower the sail whenever we're no longer able to sail towards the south, and wait. The idea is that we will not drift as far north as we would have sailed north with this wind. As soon as the wind turn back in our favour we hoist the sail and sail as fast and far as we can before the next round of southerly winds. Both rafts lowered their sail last night, and hopefully the wind will turn during the day today. Meanwhile we patiently wait.
The second picture shows Lisa playing the guitar.
Crew in black & white
(2016-01-28) Erlend Koppergård has taken these portraits of the crew on Tupaq Yupanqui.
Pacific Cuisine on Rahiti Tane Week 3 at Sea
By Lisa
(2016-01-28) Another week and the food crew has recruited 2 more chefs to it roster. Pedro has shown some talent and has been making Mexican specialities for the crew of Rahiti Tane, full of spice, heat and flavour, Pedro's creations are a welcome addition to the Rahiti Tane menu. Rasmus also has some food inspiration and started out by making a zesty sprouted lentil salad to go with our fresh bread at lunch.
We have worked our way though a lot of our fresh fruit and veges and said good bye to the final bananas on Friday. As a treat I made 2 Banana Loaves for Thursday and Friday. It flooded me with memories of New Zealand, we have a cake and tea culture and I could imagine sitting in my grandmothers kitchen eating cake, drinking tea and chatting about random events at home. The smiles that the loaf put on people's faces, it felt like total luxury to be eating such a treasure.
Our fresh vege list is potatoes, onions and lemons. We are being creative and inspiring as we can when it comes to the use of these ingredients and I am continually impressed about how well we eat here on Rahiti Tane. Here is a snapshot of our dinners of the last week:
Thursday - Papas con Chorizo
Friday - Rice and Beans in Peanut Sauce
Saturday - Spaghetti Bolognese
Sunday - Spicy Aloo Stew
Monday - Quinoa Balls with Rice and Sprouted Lentils
Tuesday - Mexican Lentil Soup with Fries
Wednesday - NZ Baked Beans with Smashed Potatoes
As we head into weather that is wet and damp, we have started introducing more snacks and even had an evening of Hot Chocolate and story telling. One thing we have done well on our raft, is to make sure that we have food events that we can look forward to. Chocolate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, are a treat the crew never let me forget, but also when we hit a milestone like 30 degrees latitude we had a whole lot of snacks and popcorn to celebrate. We are looking forward to a few more events on the horizon to break out some new cuisine and tantalise our taste buds!
Bamboo deck crushed
(2016-01-26) These pictures from Tupaq Yupanqui show damage on the bamboo deck. Crushing waves have caused the deck to splinter in places, as described by Signe. The decking lies on top of the balsa logs, which are unharmed.
Mast & Masters
By Andrey
(2016-01-26) Today I worked on the mast. A wind meter broke and now, after
swinging on the ropes and fighting with the drill and the screws for
about forty minutes, we know the wind speed and direction once again.
Turned out that a new battery was all that was needed. It is a little
disappointing that work could have been done with less effort, but the
result is what counts. I hope you will appreciate a few photos taken
from the highest point in the radius of several nautical miles!
Also, we decided to improve ambience on Tupac. We probably
got a little tired from the rubber boots swinging under the ceiling and
from the perpetually damp towels. In a word, we felt like we needed a
sprinkling of art around us. Now one of the cabin walls is serving as a
gallery of children's drawings. It feels great and very touching to see
a bunch of bearded guys hanging up the drawings painstakingly colored
with bright markers and pencils. All the pictures are very meaningful
and, most importantly, sincere. They make us think of home. The
subjects are simple. But look at these rafts, tropical trees, fish and
huge whales! That's exactly what they look like in children's
imagination. Thanks to Paula, Sverre, Kate, and Pete for raising our
spirits! These pictures are now much dearer to us than works of the
most famous masters.
The latest craze
By Rasmus
(2016-01-25) Two of the things I like best in life are sailing and sleeping. (I don't want to be a boaster, but trustworthy people actually keep on telling me that I show quite some talent when it comes to the latter). It is usually a good combination as you seldom sleep as good as after a night watch.
Yesterday however, we had wind speeds of about 11 m/s (5-6 beaufort) and the waves were growing bigger. High waves are not a problem per se, it depends on the wave length. As long as a wave has the time to pass before the next one arrives, the raft is just gently lifted and tilted. However, when there is a short wave coming, it breaks over the aft and if you are unlucky, some water is pressed through any hole in the floor of the hut and splashed into your face.
This was the case last night, and while I was lying in my bed, trying to be unconcerned about the occasional involuntary face washes, I came up with a possible solution. Luseplatting! (Update: "baggywrinkle" in English) It is an arrangement made out of small pieces of rope tied to a rope and it ends up looking like a elongated toilet brush; or Mark Zuckerberg's dog, I've been told. Usually it is used to protect things such as sails or gaffs from unnecessary chafing, but I thought it could do the trick as sealing compound as well.
Highly motivated, Lisa and I managed to produce about 5 m of luseplatting during the night watch, and we ended up with two fluffy things that almost looked like pets. Despite their cute appearance and look of appeal, we quickly stowed them away in a hole in the deck along the wall of the hut, where the sea previously had found its way in. It was a great success, and my two hobbies were suddenly not in conflict any more. Liv has now produced her first luseplatting, and I believe that it might soon be the latest craze aboard Rahiti Tane.
No swimming
(2016-01-24) Erik writes: We have to admit, there was no swimming yesterday. Our diving board, which is normally 50 cm (almost two feet) above sea level, was mostly under water. It's lovely to be at sea in big waves, but hard to sleep with all the sounds and the wet water.
In Erik's first picture above, you can see the diving board on Tupac Yupanqui. The second picture shows one of the local residents: a small crab has hitched a ride on the raft.
A rough night
By Signe
(2016-01-24) It's been a rough night, but surprisingly we slept soundly. There was quite a bit of splashing both inside and outside as the waves came crashing down over poor Rahiti Tane. Waking up this morning the raft looked like a disaster area. 30 five-year-olds in a birthday party could not have made a bigger mess. Many of the bamboo decks were broken, fortunately they had been salvaged by Rasmus and Lisa during the night. Our wooden storage boxes with food and equipment that usually line the cabin walls had also threatened to jump overboard but had been saved and brought to the front of the raft. Pedro and I went to work after breakfast, working our way forward from the aft. Each piece of deck had to be put back in its place and tied down properly. This involved getting wet as the waves broke over us while we were under deck tying knots. A few hours later the job was almost done and we were so wet and cold that we had to take a break. The water still holds 22 degrees so I suppose we shouldn't complain. Fortunately, nothing was lost over board during the night and the raft is still sound. So in total, no harm done. We are now better prepared for whatever awaits us in the Roaring Forties. The good thing is, we sailed 64.5 nautical miles in the 24 hours from Saturday to Sunday. This is not a record as it's 5 miles short of our record from the first leg, but it's certainly the roughest sailing we've had since leaving Peru. Good to see how well the raft handles the weather – we haven't touched a guara board in days.
Speed record
By Liv
(2016-01-23) Tonight Rahiti Tane made a speed record. We reached more than 4 knots for a short while. Yesterday we celebrated reaching 30 degrees South with banana chips. It's noon now and we have passed 31 degrees South. In the last two hours, our average speed was 2.6 knots per hour. One minute is a nautical mile (1852 meters), so the word "speed" might be not be the right word. If the Pacific Ocean had been a frozen sea, it is not hard to imagine and compare the blue waves here with the white snowdrifts or sastrugis in Antarctica. There we would be able to ski and pull a 100kg sled behind at the same pace Tupaq is doing now... The spirits onboard Tupac are high. We are looking forward to Saturday night dinner, and are all happy to move Southwards to 38-40 degrees South to catch Western winds and currents.
Week 2 at sea
By Signe
(2016-01-23) On Rahiti Tane the cooking is shared mostly between Lisa, Pedro and Signe. Liv is the breakfast cook, serving oatmeal every morning. Our favourite is when she mixes in some leftover rice, giving it a nice texture. Pedro serves mexican classics and Lisa and Signe mostly just start by chopping onions and use their imagination for the rest. The menu of the week:
Monday: Moros con cristianos (rice and beans mexican style)
Tuesday: Curry with rice
Wednesday: Potatoes with mushroom stew
We bake bread every second day, and it's getting better and better. We are sure to win the breadbaking competition started by Torgeir on Tupac!
As the third week starts we are in high spirits, we have passed 30 degrees south, we have more books to read and more vegetables to eat. All is good.
We have finally managed to finish the bananas, even our monkey mascot Balsa is sick of bananas. These final three will become banana loaf later today.
30 degrees south!
(2016-01-22) Signe, the captain on Rahiti Tane, writes:
After a long period of winds from south-east, the pressure system we are in has finally moved east, giving us the northerly winds we have so far only been dreaming of. Early this morning we passed 30 degrees southerly latitude! Finally! Along with the big smiles that are now plastered on everyones faces this will be celebrated with Lisa's banana loaf later on today. We now have 600 miles to go to until we reach 40 degrees south, our next big milestone. Hopefully the winds will be favourable and turn westerly before we reach that far so we can start working our way back towards South America. A happy day for raft sailors in the Pacific!
The picture shows the screen of the Jotron AIS transceiver which also doubles as a GPS, now declaring 30 degrees south!
Maintanance day on Tupac
By Andrey
(2016-01-22) Today we decided to do some maintenance on the raft in order to prepare
for whatever awaits us over the next weeks. Most of the work was
completed during our Easter Island stopover, but things do break as we
move on. Moreover, we are getting settled and start seeing our space
from a new perspective. Gas tanks, boxes and scientific equipment
containers keep migrating around the raft in search of the very best
spot. Additionally, there is some planned maintenance to be done, since
we've already spent two weeks at sea. This added up to a whole lot of
work. The course and the wind have been rather stable today so we could
pretty much focus on repairs and such.
We started with the cabin floor. During our island layover we have
reinforced the floor taking into account some of the issues we faced
during the first leg of our journey. The problem is that the beam sea
would sometimes cause upward splashes through floor cracks inside the
cabin. Being merely unpleasant for crew members (especially at
nighttime, as it means drying sleeping bags the morning after), such a
shower is a disaster for naviagtion and video equipment! Our
enhancements did work, but the waves are still there, so we had to
repair a fragment of the floor near the command bridge. Then we focused
on the rear deck, which suffered most. The waves keep hitting bamboo
decking that Heikki, Heidi, Boris and I invested so much time and
effort in. Some bamboo planks have split and splintered, some ropes
have torn. Not looking good at all. We rescued what could be rescued
and tried to prevent further bamboo desintegration. If things get any
worse we will have to use a part of front deck planks for repair. The
front deck is feeling much better. Additionally, we have washed our
solar power units and handled the waste, including empty water bottles.
To reward ourselves for a pretty productive day, we lounged in the
newly installed front deck hammock and celebrated with some delicious
spaghetti, sauce and mushrooms.
Two weeks at sea, and having a great journey!
Happy Birthday, Paula!
(2016-01-21) A very special happy birthday cake has been made in honor of Paula turning 9 years old. Paula is in Norway, while Paula's father is onboard the Tupac Yupanqui. In these pictures, the crew proudly shows off the delicacy. While the pictures are priceless gifts, Paula is unlikely to have a taste of her birthday cake — by now, the cake has probably been consumed by the sugar-craving crew :-)
Lemoncake
(2016-01-21-cake) Andrey writes: Today I've made a lemon cake by the special recipe of my mom. All of
crewmembers of Tupac appreciate my cooking. For me it was not only
tasty cake, but something more. Kind of remaining of my home and
family, because this cake is obligatory attribute of holiday table in
our house. It is very important for me, because I haven't been at home
for 3 mounth! And also it is very big pleasure, when the crew really
likes the dessert that you made. Now we are trying to figure out where
we can take more lemons. Maybe someone can send us a bag or two?
CTD launched from Rahiti Tane
(2016-01-29) The crew on Rahiti Tane (RT) performed great team work today. They deployed an instrument to measure the physical characteristics of the water column, also known as a CTD, down to 500m. The first deep launch from this raft required communication and efforts from at least 5 of the crew members. Arming the instrument, spooling the line, holding tension on the capstan, handling the loose line and steering the raft away from the line were demanding tasks required for the operation to be succesfully completed. Liv, Lisa, captain Meling and Pedro succesfully sent and retrieved the instrument in the course of a sunset. It is noteworthy that even Evgenij, our filmmaker on board who never stops recording, set the camera down to join and ease the team's stress.
The team tested the deep launch capacity of RT. The bamboo boom that holds a pulley on the port (windward) side, resisted the tension and protected the raft. Hundreds of kevlar lines were tied to together to make the deep line on the first part of the Kon-Tiki2 expedition. Each knot represented a threat to this operation in the line under high tension. The deployment was done under course, moving at approximately 2 kn, and the deep line affected the vessel's control. Line spooling was timed, as the line is not marked for length: 30min and 2 persons to send the CTD down, 4 members and one hour to retrieve the 10kg payload. the newly installed setup holds together and adds a new capacity to RT.
The gathered data shows a smoothly decreasing temperature gradient from 24 at the surface to 6 degrees Celcius at maximum depth, the location of oxygen maximum and minimum, and a peak of fluorescence at depth. The Research Vessel Rahiti Tane is equipped with sophisticated scientific instruments from NIVA and NTNU, it has an organized and capable crew on board and will continue in the path to America with its scientific program.
Crew goes bananas
(2016-01-19) Rasmus writes:
When I first came to Easter Island I hadn't given much thought about whether there would be banana trees on the island or not. But when I first saw one, I realised that an old dream was about to come true. The dream of cutting a whole banana stem from a tree, bring it on board and sail away. A quite modest dream, one could say, but those dreams are usually the best as they might actually come true.
Without my knowledge, I happened to share this dream with both Jimmy and Signe who showed great enthusiasm when our hosts at Easter Island lent us a knife, and pointed out some banana stems that we could reap. I might have imagined a slightly more elegant cutting, preferably with a cutlass. But after a bit of work with our arms, heads and the knife somewhere among the banana leaves we managed to bring out lots of bananas. Without blood shed.
The banana stems were brought on board the rafts and mounted in the ceilings of the huts. There it hangs, like the balsa raft equivalent of a cut-glass chandelier. Some people would argue that there are impractical aspects of having such a thing hanging 1.5 metres above the ground in the middle of a crowded area. I guess they would be right, as I have lost count of the many times I've banged my head into the brown and yellow fruits. But hey, isn't it a cheap price to pay for living a dream?
Kon-Tiki2 logs still floating well
(2016-01-18) Torgeir writes: The wind has been coming from the wrong direction, but the rafts are still good sailing vessels. Rahiti Tane has been our leading star for several nights now, with her light in the mast showing us the best course to sail. A year ago, I was in Ecuador with actor and TV-presenter Les Stroud (Survivorman) to find logs for our two rafts. Our general sponsor AirexBaltekBanova and their engineers provided us with 44 logs which they transported to our construction site at SIMA in Peru. After three months at sea we are still floating well enough to perform good sailing. Check the video on how balsalogs are important in modern society. In the pictures above, Tupac Yupanqui and Rahiti Tane can be seen in water, waves and an epic sunset.
Raft rendevouz
(2016-01-17) The two twin rafts meet again. And, the uplink connection is working! In the first picture, Pedro – our Mexican engineer on Rahiti Tane – is greeted by mast climber Andrey from Russia and Tupac Yupanqui. Erik, our resident lifeguard, can be seen in picture 2 with Ola. After another ten days without fish, Erik uses his skills as a diver to find bait for Jimmy, our fishing expert. In 4, Jimmy has the right logo in his cap, but it remains to be seen what he will catch? In 5, Lisa is making something yummy (they still have fresh vegetables!) while Liv is standing next to a mountain of scientific equipment. In 6, Pedro is showing his true colors, while Torgeir has installed a fitness studio with a better chance to stay dry in 6. In 8, Roberto is seen maintaining the solar power system. He writes, in Spanish:
Luego de 10 dias de navegacion, estamos practicamente en la misma latitud que la Isla de Pascua y unas 200 millas mas al oeste. Fue necesario rodear la Isla por el norte y tomar rumbo hacia el oeste en donde hay mas posibilades de encontrar los vientos que nos permitan ir hacia el sur hasta alcazar la latitud 40 S, conocida como "the roaring forties", donde predominan fuerte vientos con direccion al continente. El gobierno de las balsas es cada vez mas preciso y predecible. El mar, de un azul intenso, todavia no nos regala un buen pascado para refrescar nuestro menu, al que ya se le estan agotando los alimentos frescos. La poblacion de cangrejos ha aumentado a unos cuatro que se dejan ver mas una minuscula criatura que debe ser 100% kontikense. Paciencia y buen humor, este ultimo no ha declinado y esperamos mejores vientos.
In his text, Robert expains the winds and the currents, and the onboard raft population. Stay tuned for pictorial evidence.
Why are we sailing westwards?
by Signe
(2016-01-15) We are sailing westwards. South America is to the east. Have we turned our compasses the wrong way around? No, we are sailing west on purpose. Our main goal now is to sail south. We need to get to around 40 degrees south before we can head straight for South America, and with the winds and current we have been getting this past week we have been faced with the choice of sailing either northeast or west/southwest. Choosing the latter gives us the course which will take us the least to the north. The smaller of two evils, on other words.
The problem is the wind. In this area the statistics say that we should have east, north east and northerly winds. We've been experiencing south, south/southeast and southeast. A high pressure system is to the southwest of us, giving us these winds. In the southern hemisphere the winds around a high pressure system blow anticlockwise, and we seem to be at "2 o'clock" in this system. All we need is for it to move east, so that we'll be at "10 o'clock" giving us wind from northeast and east. It just doesn't seem to want to move.
In a normal year this pressure system would be placed southeast of Rapa Nui, but this is clearly not a normal year. In the end, we just have to be patient. The northerly winds will come eventually. And hey, no-one ever said this was going to be easy, right? Spirits are still high, the sun is shining and the sea temperature is a comfortable 23 degrees. No complaints there.
Pacific cuisine on Rahiti Tane: Week 1 at sea
By Lisa and Signe
(2016-01-16) We're back at sea again, with fresh supplies of vegetables, people and energy. It was hard to get hold of large quantities of any vegetable on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) seeing as they grow almost nothing themselves, it's all flown in from mainland Chile. We did get a lot of onion and garlic, some carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, pineapples and lemons. This is what we've had this first week:
Thursday: Boiled potatoes, onions and fresh salad
Friday: Curry with rice
Saturday: Lentil burgers with rice
Sunday: Chinese vegetables with rice
Monday: Rice with vegetables in a peanut/coconut sauce
Tuesday: Potato soup
Wednesday: Chick peas in tomato-ginger sauce with rice
We've been baking bread every second day, and Tupac have started a bread-baking competition to see which raft can make the best bread. Not sure who the judge will be but we'll sure do our best to win the competition. Lisa is the steward on this leg, and she's doing a tremendous job of keeping track of how much we have of everything and where it is stored. We're probably going to be out here for a very long time so it's important to watch our consumption. One thing that we did get a lot of was chocolate! So, we have increased our chocolate intake: we now eat chocolate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays as opposed to only Wednesdays and Saturdays on the first leg. First impressions are that Chilean chocolate is very good! So far we've been very happy about the food. Our Russian photographer often exclaims "delicious! Tastes like home!". Contrary to our hard efforts we have not caught any fish yet, even though there was one on the hook a few days ago but it simply took the bait and swam off. Will continue to work hard on this issue. We're now starting week two, and the food planning is well underway.
Good food makes happy raft
(2016-01-14) Torgeir writes:
We are still drifting westwards but celebrate that we see the 27 number again: 27 degrees south. The soups we got for Christmas from Asker are very popular, especially when mixed with fresh food from Easter Island. Erlend and Andrey take their job in the kitchen seriously. Making food is also what I enjoy every day. I think my survival instinct tells me to be near the food when I can. If the wind turns tomorrow we should see a new degree on the Jotron AIS every day.
Sergey Goltsov: doctor, blogger, photographer
(2016-01-14) Sergey Goltsov is the Expedition doctor on the second leg. Like his prececessor, Boris Romanov, he is Russian and multi-talented. Sergey has blogged extensively about the expedition, both in Russian and in English. Along with the text come images — Sergey is magically able to upload images through the narrow uplink on Rahiti Tane.
In the pictures above you can see Sergey with a flying fish. Helpful hint: flying fish are edible. In Barbados, flying fish are eaten scaled, boned, and butterflied.
First Circumnavigation of Easter Island by Rafts
(2016-01-13) Torgeir writes:
The title is not a joke, but I wish it was. The first week of our historical effort to sail from Easter Island to South America on rafts has been very difficult in many ways. We are now further away from our goal than a week ago. To sail in the "wrong" direction many days in a row is for me like a nightmare. When I read the mail from Gunvor yesterday the situation felt even hopeless. Gunvor, who is a very good sailor and knows how to sail our rafts perfectly, concluded: "with the winds that you have the next week along your route you will never get to South America".
This last night shows some hope. Even with winds coming from our destination, we have managed to sail on 200 degrees south, by constantly raising and lowering the guares (daggerboards). My crewmates and those on Rahiti do a tremendous job. I remain hopeful.
On rafts in our age
(2016-01-12) Torgeir writes:
Many people write me and ask why I build rafts and sail them on the ocean. There are many important answers in the why section of our web page, but I also encourage those who write me to look around and see what the raft means today, in our progressive world of growth-minded states and people. The planet today is like Easter Island in the 17th and 18th century. We kill our habitat slowly and we all know what is going to happen.
The raft is the great escape people use when they are desperate, when they risk their lives to escape from something. And they number thousands, every year. They escape from wars, poverty or politics. On the other side of the ocean they find hope. Thousands of people do not know how to make their own rafts, instead they pay others to get them to the other side.
In ancient times, the rafts were also used to escape wars, poverty, or politics. After a disaster like El Nino, earthquake, vulcano eruptions or draught, rafters were able to find new land and start a new life. Today the rafters only find more politics. The Kon-Tiki2 cannot be compared to crossings in the Mediterranean, but it is a reminder that voyages in search for a better future have taken place at all times and that they go on right now. Lucky are we on these two rafts, with no fear and no bigger worries than when the wind will come. It will come.
Day 6
(2016-01-11) Torgeir reports from Tupac:
Today was workout day on Tupac. Also, the two rafts met. Pedro, our engineer and oceanographer, came with the photographer Jevgeny to Tupac. Pedro fixed the AIS. Torgeir and Andrey took a swim to Rahiti and met Signe, Liv, Lisa, Sergey and Rasmus there. Meanwhile Erik harpooned a small fish that we use as bait. When the visit was over the wind changed and increased, now from southeast. Great sailing the rest of the day. We try to go east but are pushed a bit north as well.
Håkon adds, from a dry place with a fast internet connection: the wind has since shifted and is coming from south-east, which is the worst possible direction. You can follow the movements on the map on the left side of the home page.
Meet crew member Lisa!
(2016-01-11) Lisa te Heuheu is a part of the Rahiti Tane crew. She is a New Zealand Māori with a passion for the environment, māori knowledge and culture and the development of all people. Together with Liv, she was recently a team member of the Access Water Ganges expedition to India. Now we are happy she's a part of our expedition! Read her blog about this new adventure called Kon-Tiki2.
Day 5 on Tupaq
(2016-01-10) Torgeir writes:
During our three weeks on the island we had several gales. Now, five days at sea, we have had almost no wind and we have sailed only a few miles out from Easter Island. We can still see the volcanoes in the horizon, but now as small shadows under the big clouds. At this speed it will take us several weeks just to get to the Roaring Forties. That is where we are heading now, at the speed of "a couple in love taking a stroll pushing their babywagon in front of them". That's how Jimmy puts it. Jimmy is a 31 year old Swede who spend most of his time fishing. His experiments are good entertainment, especially when he loses his third fish into the ocean. "It is so slippery" he says laughing. I am glad these fish are were small ones he intended to use for bait. When a big dorado gets up on deck I will personally make sure it stays here. The good news is that we still have a "Happy Ship". Team Tupac has fun and does scientific tasks that are much easier to do with no wind. The three-stage sampler from NIVA works well and for the first time we can listen to the sound of 15,000 liters of seawater being pumped through the filters. We are still motivated and prepare ourselves for months at sea.
Iorana, Rapa Nui!
(2016-01-06) Captain Signe Meling reports that both Kon-Tiki2 rafts left their moorings outside Easter Island today. Tupac Yupanqui was towed first, then Rahiti Tane. The Chilean Navy is very professional and helpful. The raft are towed at a speed of 5 knots and the crew hope to return to sail power before dark. You can follow the movement of Rahiti Tane on the map, Tupac Yupanqui's tracker is currently off.
The Expedition would like to thank everyone on Easter Island for being wonderful people in a wonderful place. In particular, Jackeline Rapu Tuki and her family have been fantastic!
The second leg of the Expedition will bring the rafts back to South America. The journey will be challenging as the rafts will take a more southernly route to find favorable winds and currents. The roaring 40's may soon see visitors.
The new Kon-Tiki2 team
(2016-01-06) Torgeir writes:
Finally we got all 14 crew members for the second leg to
Easter Island. The last member to join is Evgenij Orlov who took these
photos. Once again I want to highlight the support we get from the
hundreds of local people we meet every day and the official support
from the mayor, the governor, and the Chilean Armada. We delayed our
departure because of a southerly wind which is still blowing. Tomorrow
we can set sail for The Roaring Forties.
Preparing departure
(2015-01-05) The Expedition is eager to start the second leg of the journey and head for South America. Some final preparations still need to be made. Kon-Tiki2 Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff writes:
We are getting ready to launch. For the first time in modern
history, ancient style vessels will be sailing from Polynesia to South America. On
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) we have met many friendly islanders and we have made
some repairs on the rafts. We specially want to thank our host Jackeline Rapu
Tuki and her family for helping us with many issues, and the mayor Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa
for providing us with fruits and vegetables from the islanders for the return
leg.
In the picture, mayor Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa meets with Lisa and Torgeir.
Preparing deep-water camera
(2016-01-03) Pedro is preparing the deep-water camera. The two halves of the glass sphere, is held together with vaccum. The sphere contains batteries and electronics controlling the lamps and camera, which are placed in separate enclosures outside the sphere.
Gathering around Tukuturi
(2016-01-01) The Kon-Tiki2 crew for the next leg, from Easter Island to South America, is busy on Easter Island. In the first picture, they have gathered in Ranu Raraku, around the Tukuturi statue. This particular statue has a close resemblance with one of the crew members. A coincidence? We don't think so. In picture 3 and 4, Erlend Koppergaard, our film photographer, is calibrating his equipment.
New crew shaping up
(2015-12-30) The brave crew for the return voyage of the
Kon-Tiki2 Expedition has gathered on Easter Island. These pictures reveal both physical and mental challenges. The collective jump in the first picture requires strong leadership and solid team coordiantion, while the third picuture shows how the team prepares for primitive transportation. Being exposed to frequent photo sessions is part of going to sea, and Sergey Goltsov (the Expedition doctor) is also taking lead as photographer.
Liv Arnesen brings goodie-bag
(2015-12-26) Liv Arnesen left Norwary for Easter Island today to take
part in the second leg of the Expedition. Before leaving, she visited
Meny Trekanten, a
supermarket in Asker, Norway. There, she filled a geneous 90 liter bag
with food and goodies for the journey from Easter Island back to South
America. In the picture, from left: Erling Holth, Meny; Geir Lunde, Concedo; Mette
Kiilerich, Trekanten; Lene Conradi, Mayor of Asker, and Liv Arnesen.
Change of crew on magnificent Rapa Nui
(2015-12-22) The Kon-Tiki2 rafts are now safely anchored outside Hangaroa on Easter Island. Some of the crew will continue onwards to South America in January, some are flying home, and new crew members for the second leg arrive. A labor dispute in Chile halted flights to and from Easter Island for several days, but a military airplane was able to bring Sergey, Erik and Torgeir's family to Easter Island. We are very thankful for the help provided; Jacqueline and her wonderful family continue to impress us in their may roles as B&B providers, dance instructors, and travel agents extraordinaire. The strike is now over, and we believe Jacqueline fixed that, too. The crew spend their days touring the unique monuments of the Island and getting to know each other while preparing for the next big challenge: the return voyage! By raft.
We made it!
(2015-12-19) The Tupac Yupanqui raft of the The Kon-Tiki Expedition is now safely moored outside of Hangaroa in Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The Expedition was greeted by the Chilean Navy who provided courteous and professional towing assistance to prepared buoys. The other raft, Rahiti Tane is still being towed as this is written. As can be seen, the crew is very happy to have reached the beautiful Rapa Nui island and look forward to going onshore.
[Update: some hours later, all crew members are onshore enjoying a fantastic welcome — food and drinks included — organized by our friends on Rapa Nui! The pictures below shows how wonderful grass feels, how good it is to be at Jacqueline's fabulous party, and the Rahiti crew at buoy]
Land A-hoy! Iorana!
(2015-11-18) After 42 days at sea, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) can barely be made out through the clouds in the distance of the first (zoomed) photo. A landmark, in more ways than one. Iorana!. The first picture was taken just after we first saw the island this morning, about 40 nautical miles away. The second picture is taken about six hours later, when we are 25 nautical miles away. In the second picture, one can see the Poike mountain to the left and the Maunga Terevake mountain on the right. In the third picture, taken some 12 hours after the first sighting, the crew of Tupac Yupanqui is seen in joyful celebration with a sun setting on Easter Island. In picture 4, the clouds are telling us where Maunga Terevake can be found. Or, has the volcano awoken to greet us? Picture 5 is on Dec 19; a proud Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff can be seen at sunrise with the northern tip of Rapa Nui behind him. In the last picture, Tupac Yupanqui is seen sailing towards Hangaroa with Easter Island on port side.
Some first reactions from the crew:
Bora: I'm very very happy to see Rapa Nui!
Øyvin: We did it, by refining guara board techniques!
Torgeir: Epic, not to be taken for granted!
Håkon: it was amazing to see land, and then shout land!
Esteban: I have always dreamt of visiting Easter Island, but not on a balsa raft!
Pål: To finally see Rapa Nui after 42 days is a relief, we made it!
Gunvor: It's crazy to find this island!
Andrey: Half-way done, congratulations!
Kari: I was on watch, looking out, wondering when we would see the island. All of a sudden, there it was -- I was with Bora and we hugged!
Cecilie: Lovely to reach Rapa Nui, it looks lovely in the distance. An adventure is sadly over but it is a fantastic bonus to get to see this famous island!
How to sail a raft
By Gunvor, seen in the sunset picture
I want to try to give a picture on how it is to sail a raft and how it is to steer
with guaraboards, or daggerboards. Now we have been out sailing for over four
weeks. Mostly we have had southeasterly and easterly winds. They have been from a
light breeze to what we in Norway call a frisk bris, about 10 m/s, maybe up to a
small gale in some showers. Even tough we have sailed and steered this vessel for a
month now, we experience new things every day.
(2015-12-18) We have been out here in the southeast Pacific for more
than a month, and we never tire of the changing skies. We may not have
seen as many stars as we expected, but on the other hand we have
overdosed on beautiful clouds. You can see some of our favorites in
these pictures.
About climbing the mast
By Andrey, aka. andrew, who is very happy to be here and now
(2015-12-18) The 1st place of the most exciting feelings and sensations of this journey gets
climbing on the mast. first time it was a little scary, because of unstable and
twisting and trembling ladder, but in couple of times i've used for it. and that
sense, when you are standing on the soar (top of the sail) and watching the horizon
espesially in the time of sunrise... it is more than freedom or inspiration or
beauty. it is happiness. and this happiness is so real and concentrate, that it
seems, you can touch it with your hands. "amazing" is too light word to describe it.
Movie nights in the South pacific
(2015-12-17) Having sails our our rafts has two obvious benefits. First, it allows us to sail from South America to Easter Island — and back! Second, it's a giant screen for video projectors. At night, the crew gathers with a ration of popcorn to enjoy a fine selection of movies with a maritime theme. The original Kon-Tiki movie, the Oscar-awarded documentary made by Thor Heyerdahl, was an obvious first choice. The movie audience was in awe: how could anyone cross the Pacific with such small sail? Torgeir Higraff's movie about the Tangaroa Expedition in 2006, featuring younger versions of Øyvin Lauten and Roberto Sala, has also been a smashing hit. David Attenborough has taken a fatherly role on our sail while lecturing on the history of Easter Island. A more scary choice was The Whale, a BBC production about the terrible fate of the Essex and her crew. None asked the question other people might have asked: why didn't they just catch and eat fish? To make the our crew sleep in comfort, excerpts from Windjammer — the fantastic feelgood movie about the Christian Radich fullrigger — were shown afterwards. Tonight's choice is The Mutiny on Bounty. If the captain allows it.
What amazing morning!
By Kari Dahl
Signe woke me up carefully saying I think you want to bring out your sextant this
morning. And she was so right! I am listing up our sights, and you can use them for
navigation training purposes. A special greetings to SOCIEDAD ASTRONOMICA Y
GEOGRAFICA DE CIUDAD REAL. Un saludo desde nuestra balsa.
We are in position S 31,72 W 106 3,9
The sights were:
Betelgeuse approx 06:22, angle 23
Riegel 06:30:57 angle 23
X (planet/star over Betelgeuse) 06:32:10 angle 45:50
Rigil Kent 06:29:52
X (probably Sirius, compass 300) 06:34:15 angle 42:50
Venus 06:36:18 angle 24:33 (bearing:165)
X (probably Sirius) 06:41:17 angle 42 (compass:275)
06:44:23 angle 42
Mars 06:50:25 angle:55
Venus
06:45:30 angle 26:37
06:51:45.angle 37:15
06:54:40 angle 28:58
06:55:46 angle 28:03
06:56:34 angle 28:05
06:57:34 angle 28
06:59:09 angle 29:42
07:00:15 angle 29:56
07:01:17 angle 30:04
07:02:22 angle 30:27
Portraits from Rahiti
(2015-11-16) The glamorous sailors on the Rahiti Tane (one of the rafts in the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition) raditate strength, joy and a bit of madness in these pictures. Starved on beans (joke) and a text-based internet connection (almost-joke), they are looking forward to landing on Easter Island — but will always remember this sunny day on a raft in the South-East pacific. 170 nautical miles to go for Kari, Gunvor, Signe, Torgeir (visiting photographer from Tupac), Cecilie, Boris, Pål, and Esteban.
Hansen protect our sailors
(2015-11-16) Lifevests, work suits, and survival suits are essential equipment for the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition. Our gear is from Hansen Protection, of which we have a fine selection. The work suits are used on night watches, to keep us warm and dry. In the first picture, Håkon is seen wearing the SeaWind model when launching a drifter. In the last three pictures, the SeaLion is worn by our crew members — matching nicely with our beards and sail.
Epic meeting at sea
(2015-12-15) In a rare occurrence, the two balsa rafts of the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition met at sea today, 185 nautical miles norteast of Easter Island. Although the expedition prides itself at being able to sail these rafts (as opposed to drift), manouvering very close to each other is difficult. However, careful guara-board adjustments and the watchful eyes of Captain Kari and Captein Øyvin (seen in picture 5 and 6) ensured a smooth encounter.
Roca Minnehaha
By Kari Dahl
(2015-12-15) On our voyage across the Pacific ocean, the Kon-Tiki2
Expedition does not find many rocks, islands, or reefs to stay clear
of. In that way, navigation has been very easy. Tonight we will be
heading over a hidden island (in Spanish: isla fantasma) called Roca
Minnehaha. This island was first spotted by a ship called Victoria in
1879. It has not been seen for many years, but is kept in the nautical
charts — just in case it is there. There are many wonders below and
around us and Roca Minnehaha could be one of them. So tonight, we keep
sharp look-out.
[The editor was awoken by a cheerful crew on Rahiti Tane on VHF this morning. They reported that no isla fantasma had been spotted overnight, even if the island is real enough to have its own page in Wikipedia. The first picture shows how the island appears on printed nautical charts (with captain Øyvin Lauten's authentic markings), and the second picture shows the Pacific ocean as we see it just now. No islas — fantasma or real — only the beautiful Rahiti Tane on the horizon.]
Andrey Chesnokov, roundtrip sailor
(2015-12-15) Andrey Chesnokov is the resident Russian on Tupac Yupanqui. In this interview he talks about being stuck with six blue-eyed Norwegian speakers on a raft, and how to make delicious food with a minimal number of ingredients. He describes how Opera invited him to be a blogger for Vokrug Sveta on the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition and what extra items he will bring on the second leg. That's right, Andrey be one of the few people on this planet who has sailed roundtrip from South America to Easter Island!
In the pictures, Andrey is seen with his signature bandana, and his signature musical instrument. Andrey appreciates many means of transport, including buses in Callao and rubber dinghys in the Pacific. He likes the ocean (helpful in the Pacific), and quickly learnt the ropes on the raft. Given a few more months, there would have been been seven blue-eyed Norwegian speakers onboard Tupac Yupanqui!
Pacific cuisine on Rahiti Tane, week 5
By Signe (who sits front in this picture from the Rahiti front deck)
(2015-12-14) Our fifth week has passed and it's been somewhat of an international food week.
We've had a taste of India, Italy, Indonesia, USA and a few places in between. We've
also invented some new dishes and we have started sprouting lentils! So now we have
fresh vegetables in the form of sprouted lentils, we have rehydrated vegetables from
the dried ones Gunvor brought and we also still have some onions and garlic. Who
would've thought we'd be eating fresh vegetables in the middle of the ocean? The menu:
Sunday: Quinoa balls with rice and sauce
Monday: Chick peas in curry sauce
Tuesday: Dehydrated foods from our sponsor Real Turmat
Wednesday: Spaghetti with tomato sauce
Thursday: Lentils in a thick peanut/coconut sauce with rice
Friday: Tomato/pea soup with an Asian twist
Saturday: Burgers (lentils and quinoa) with burger bread and yucca-fries
We never throw any food overboard, and so breakfast and lunch are good opportunities
to use leftovers. We always have oatmeal for breakfast, and very often this porridge
consists of more than just oats and water. Leftover rice and quinoa are good
additions to the porridge. Our expedition doctor Boris tells me that a mixed
porridge of oats and rice is called friendship in Russia — we have friendship for
breakfast several times a week and it tastes much better than just plain oatmeal!
Whatever porridge is left over is used as a base for baking bread or making
pancakes. Whenever we finish another pot of peanut butter we put water into it and
shake to get the last bits out, and use this in a sauce. This way we make sure that
we never waste any food.
Now we've entered what will probably be our last week at sea and since Sunday was
Lucia-day we baked lussekatter!
2046 meters!
(2015-12-14) In a record-breaking deep-water measurement, the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition launched a CTD which reached 2046 meters (6712 ft) below the Tupac Yupanqui raft. Even more impressively, the CTD was brought safely back to the raft. CTD stands for conductivity, temperature and depth, which translates to measuring salinity and temperature at various depths in the ocean. Also, our CTD measures oxygen levels and chlorophyll. We can reveal that the temperature 2046 meters below us is 2.343°C, but we leave it to NIVA's scientists to decode the rest of the data, which was recovered from the CTD when it resurfaced. The CTD was tied to the raft with an almost 4000 meters long rope, patched together from kevlar spaghetti with triple fishermen knots. Due to surface wind and ocean currents, the rope had a significant angle which explains why the CTD did not reach further down. On a calmer day, today's impressive record — a first from a balsa raft — may be broken. Kon-Tiki2's Chief Scientist Cecilie Mauritzen expressed gratitude to the selfless crew who donated all of today's solar power to the winch that brought the CTD back from the abyss. She writes:
Today the Tupac crew lifted the quality of the expedition dataset up many many
levels, with their deep water CTD cast to 2000 meters. Who would have thought it
would be possible to perform that sort of operation on a little, open-deck raft,
with a sail-winch run on solar power and some kevlar rope thinner than the knitting
yarn on Rahiti Tane? Well, its time to eat some hats — Tupac did it :).
Proud of science, proud of dedication, proud of the Kon Tiki 2 Expedition!
[The three last pictures show the recoved CTD with David Short (left) and Håkon Wium Lie, Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff, and the Tupac Yupanqui balsa raft from where the CTD was cast]
Double fisherman David Short
(2015-12-13) David Short tops this list of fishermen on the Tupac Yupanqui, one of the two rafts in the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition. In these pictures we can see a handsome man with expedition clothing, a fishing pro with his impressive catch, and a man caring deeply for his next meal. David has a musical side, and he often performs raft-side with Andrey. In card games, he's a shark, but would never leave a sinking ship without his comrades. In Short: a good man to bring on your next rafting adventure.
Team-building on Rahiti Tane
By Pål Børresen
(2015-12-12) Setting off in two small balsa rafts in the Pacific
Ocean to sail over 2.000 nautical miles, with 7 people on each raft
without knowing each other — this is close to CRAZY, or at least
a social experiment. To lower the risk of a social disaster
at sea we agreed to have a team-building session before we left Peru
for Easter Island. Four out of seven went to Machu Picchu, two
blue (explanation will follow) did not want to prioritize
this and one got ill. The team-building session was postponed. Not a
good start on building a super team. During our second week
at sea we finally made some room for a second try. We all were curious
about each other and needed to learn and understand more about our
dreams, different backgrounds, cultures and "secrets". On board Rahiti
Tane we have a Russian, Chilean, Norwegian/Canadian and four
Norwegians, three males and four females, seven different occupations:
a doctor, a scientist, a teacher, a martial art trainer, a rescue
officer, a professional sailor and an HR manager.
The aim of the session was to use the concept of Red,
Blue and Green (a so-called Diversity Icebreaker) to
contribute to a mutual recognition of differences, providing positive
and useful learning process, by using humor and self-irony. Diversity
Icebreaker is an unique concept for communication preferences, to
identify your preferred behavior: Blue is task-oriented,
Red is relational, and Green is change oriented.
Most of us have one dominant color, but we all have some of all tree
colors. There is no right or wrong.
Rahiti Tane ended up with two significant Blue, two
Red and tree Green. We became curious about each
other, and some stated that they developed a new knowledge about
themselves and others through humorous dialogue and direct
involvement. One stated: now it's easier to understand and forgive
others of their "strange" behavior or communication. By investing
less than two hours on this, I believe we achieved fewer conflicts,
more trust and forgiveness, more positive cooperation,
and a more constructive team dynamics — thanks to Diversity
Icebreaker!
[The pictures show the facilitator, participants at work, and a Red button carried by two members of the crew]
The food situation
(2015-12-11) The food situation on Tupac Yupanqui, one of the rafts of the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition, is getting strenuous. We normally start the day with oatmeal porrage. This we still have, for now. Later in the day, we often make bread. However, our gas-fired oven no longer works and we must fry the dough in a casserole or pan instead. Due to limited supplies, rationing of sugar has been introduced and bread is divided into equal parts – one for each crew member. We need help to make the most of our remaining supplies, which can be seen in the last picure: peas, onions, garlic powder, wheat flour, ketchup, and boxes of tomato. Calling all celebrity chefs: how can these items be turned into a gourmet feast before Christmas? Any delicious recipes out there? (Also, we have rice and beans — but try without them, please!)
The inner life of Rahiti
(2015-12-11) A treasure-trove of images from the Rahiti raft was recently rediscovered close to an internet connection. We can therefore offer rare glimpses into the inner life of the raft with a female captain; Kari is seen in the first picture filling out a personality test (!) with her fellow crew members. Bora fans will like the second picture where the confident doctor has control of the raft, if not the fishing rod. In the third image, Cecilie works at her desk. Notice the thick book on Wilderness Medicine on the shelf, and the water analysis machinery beneath her desk. In picture 4 and 5, Gunvor and Signe express approval of the UK headlamps they are using. Pål, the purveyor of the images, is seen with Signe. The last picture is from our day of departure when we were towed out of Callao, which can be seen in the distant background. Two of Rahiti's guara boards are in front.
A quick note on towing: all recent expeditions, including Kon-Tiki in 1947, have been towed from port. We do not have access to unlimited numbers of rowers, and we have modern shipping lanes to worry about.
Beautiful, beautiful rafts
(2015-12-10) In Nick Thorpe's much-recommended book about the only other traditional vessel sailing to Easter Island in modern times (Eight men and a Duck, page 287), Thor Heyerdahl is quoted:
What the critics need to understand about these voyages is that it's not the crew that is fantastic, but the reed boat they're sitting on. When I set off on Kon-Tiki, I had no form of training in maritime affairs. Yet, I came back and I was applauded by the admiralities for my seamanship! It was ... ridiculous!
We must hasten to say that the crew on the Kon-Tiki2 rafts are fantastic, and that they show strong seamanship — unlike Kon-Tiki we are actually sailing our balsa rafts. Still, the balsa rafts are truly magnificent vessels which we would like to celebrate with some beautiful pictures. The first three show Tupac Yupanqui, the last three show Rahiti Tane. The final sunset picture may be the most beautiful view of any raft, ever. Until we see Rapa Nui in the background, that is.
Scientists unite! No more assessment without action!
by Cecilie Mauritzen, Chief Scientist, the Kon Tiki 2 Expedition, Lead author of the 4th and 5th Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Based on the earlier blog What the ocean would have said at COP21 I just received
an interesting challenge from Heidi and Heikki Niskanen in Finland. This wonderful
couple were part of the raft building team in Peru. And now, from their warm house
in winter Finland they ask: What would Cecilie have said at COP21?
(2015-12-09) Normally, we don't write news reports about news reports. Today we make an exception: Yr.no has a great article about how Cecilie Mauritzen (seen with the weather station in the first picture) and her team report weather data from the Kon-Tiki Expedition. Even if you cannot read the Norwegian text, you can still use the global weather forecast offered by yr.no — crew member Robert Sala uses it from his home in Peru. When shown the article, Kon-Tiki2 Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff (in the second picture) reveals that one of his goals in life has been to have an article about his expedition on exactly this website. So, if you share Torgeir's goal, all you need to do is organize a balsa-raft expedition to a remote island in an El Nino year. And, don't forget the weather station and a scientist.
(2015-12-09) Readers may have noticed a small Russian flag in the upper right corner of our homepage. Try clicking on it, and you will be take to our site, in Russian translation! Thanks to the initiative of Anna Turchaninova and Alexey Danilov, news from our rafts reach Russians — many of whom grew up with tales of Thor Heyerdahl and his expeditions, as told by Yuri Senkevich. Among the volunteer translators are Tatyana Chesnokova, Dmitry Chesnikov, Anna Turchaninova, Tatyana Gluhareva, Andrey Kuznetsov, Danila Oleolenko, Anastasia Petrova and many expedition fans in Russia. The three Russians on our Expedition — Boris Romanov, Andrey Chesnokov, and Sergey Goltsov — warmly appreciate having the backing from their own country, in their own language.
Signe Siglar
(2015-12-09) Signe Meling can be found on the Rahiti Tane raft of the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition. She has many raft-related skills: She is a hardcore sailor (which is called siglar, roughly, in her native Haugesund dialect), a good planner, and a great chef. In this authentic VHF conversation she is confronted with rumors of fictional descriptions of feasts from her raft, and of sugar shortages on the sister raft. Signe will (along with Ola, Torgeir, and Andrey) also take part in the return journey, so you will hear more from this woman.
In the pictures above, Signe is first shown wearing proper protection gear at the SIMA yard. The second picture gives us an indication that she never wastes a minute; even the bus rides to and from SIMA were productive. The next three pictures are taken on Rahiti Tane, where Signe shows good her good humor, a smiling face, and an attentive look to the rigging. The final picture is from 2009 when the photographer first met Signe on the Christian Radich — the attentive look to the rigging was already there.
Two more drifters released
(2015-12-08) The Kon-Tiki2 Expedition has launched two more drifters, part of the Global Drifter Program (GDP). These odd-looking balls with tent-like structures attached are part of a herd of reporters in the oceans. Cecilie Mauritzen, Kon-Tiki2's chief scientist, gave orders to release the drifters at 101 degrees, 54 minutes west. The over-eager crew on Tupac Yupanqui released a bit too early, but the drifters made nice splashes in the water and will hopefully add to mankind's knowledge of our oceans.
Keeping clean
(2015-12-08) Hygiene is an issue when seven people live close together on a raft. Salt-water swimming is delightful, but freshwater showers are a luxuary. A rare opportunity appeared today when a local squall passed us. (The large blue balls which can be seen in the third picture do not belong to any of these men — they are drifters which will be launched when we reach 101 degrees and 54 minutes west.)
Bread beats rice on this raft
(2015-11-08) Bread-baking has become a favorite pasttime for sailors onboard the Tupac Yupanqui. Baker Hansen in Oslo has developed a fantastic mix which only needs Pacific salt water. Our highly experimental trials show that this local ingredient, of which we have sufficient supplies, makes great bread. Ola and David knead the dough and cradle the finished result. We have a gas-fired stove for on-raft cooking. We have run out of butter (and sugar, and oranges, and carrots and ...) but still have some marmelade left. And bread mix for more yummy days! For desert: a fantastic sunset.
Film photographer wanted
(2015-12-08) Do you have experience from documentary filmmaking? Do you want to take part in a unique epic voyage and document dramatic events, scientific exploration, and social life onboard digitally for future viewers on web and television? Can you free yourself from other commitments from the end of December until the beginning of March? If so, send us an email. No email attachments, please.
Happy Birthday, Tupac & Rahiti!
by Andrey
(2015-12-08) Today is exactly one month of our independent sailing! No towboat and no land on
horizon. I don't know about other crewmembers, but for me this date is very
important! So, let's sum up!
to catch ocean fish - done!
to swim in the open ocean - done!
to reach the shore of the Easter Island - almost done.
The crew has a good mood, the wind is bringing us to our goal, the ocean is calm and
kind to us. And we sailing. I think, it's enough. My congratulations for all crewmembers of both rafts,
Keep on sailing!
Three frigatebirds
(2015-12-08) Yesterday we asked how from land a frigatebird can fly. Today we ask how far from land three frigatebirds can fly. (We are still 540 nautical miles from Easter Island.) In the first picture, you can see all three of them: two in the left side of the picture and one on the far right. In picture two it gets interesting: these birds are not here for our rice and beans, they're hunting something in the ocean surface. Marine animals show up in picture three: a large fish, probably a dorado, can be seen under water. Both the dorado and the frigatebirds hunt flying fish, and the white water to the left of the fish is probably caused by flying fish. The dorado can also be seen in the fourth picture. So, if there are dorados within photographic distance, why don't we get any? Any advice from land? Nord-Norge, korsen i farsken fesker vi fesken?
We have had some questions about camera equipment: most images on this site are taken with Håkon's Canon EOS 6D, the bird pictures use a Canon 70-200mm 1:4 IS lens, most pictures with people use a Canon 17-40mm 1:4 lens, while the close-ups use a Sigma 1:2.8 DG Macro lens.
By Cecilie Mauritzen, Chief Scientist of the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition
(2015-12-07) Now that we have managed to make a deep-water cast, thanks to the hard, dedicated
work by the crew on Tupac, it is time to reflect a bit on the importance of such
deep-water measurements. There are many ways to make measurements at the sea
surface: you can place sensors on satellites and they can measure anything from sea
surface height to chlorophyll and salinity. You can put sensors on instruments you
bring out to sea, and you simply tie the instrument to the side of the ship. We have
many such sensors tied to our raft. And you can analyze the water directly, using a
variety of chemicals, alternatively bring the samples back to shore for further
analysis as we will do.
By Signe (who sits front in this picture from the Rahiti front deck)
(2015-12-07) Another week has passed, and we still have some vegetables left! Seeing as we don't
have any means of keeping food refrigerated, we could only bring so much of certain
food types. The air temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius in the shade, so we
have had our fruits and vegetables hanging from the ceiling of the cabin in crates,
mesh bags and hammocks. The onions are now five and a half weeks old and most look
almost new, same goes for the garlic. We also still have oranges and lime.
So if you think your food gets old after a few days, think again. Most foods keep
well long after their sell-by date and often also the consume-by date.
We got some food-tips from kind readers, thanks a lot! Olga, your tip about mashing
chick peas in a bag with a rolling pin has been duly tested, only we used a large
rubber hammer instead. I believed it worked for squid-meat as well. Thank you.
So the menu:
Sunday: Rice with a newly invented peanut/red wine/coconut sauce, Rahiti-special
Monday: Chili sin carne, and chocolate cake for Estebans birthday
Tuesday: Dorado, caught with much bravado the day before
Wednesday: Pancakes and Slovak garlic soup (thank you Katarina!)
Thursday: Falafel with hummus and rice
Friday: Spaghetti with creamed mushroom sauce, fried squid (followed by warm buns!)
Saturday: Kari's "the closest we'll get to Thailand on this trip", a future Pacific classic
We're on the brink of breaking into our secret storage of dried vegetables that
Gunvor brought with her from home. She has a dehydrator and spent some time before
departure drying broccoli, chives, carrots, red beets, onions, blueberries,
mushrooms and more. These are to be soaked overnight and then you have vegetables!
Perfect for long voyages, not only at sea but in the mountains where weight is an
issue. And they don't go bad. Perfect!
The coming week has been kickstarted already as this is written a bit late, and if
it continues in the same style it will be another great food week in the Pacific!
Coffee habits
(2015-12-07) Night watches on Kon-Tiki2 are 4 hours long, in the dark, and sometimes wet and cold. To keep our crew awake and alert, we have generous supplies of Friele Instant Feelgood coffee onboard. And, as shown by these men, coffee also tastes good in daytime. Pictures look better, too.
(2015-12-06) So far on this voyage, Tupac has been the sharpest sailing balsa of the two rafts.
But something has changed. The last week or so, the distance between us has
increased, little by little. We were 12nm miles apart at eight o clock last night.
Rahiti Tane have been sailing as slow as she can, not gaining height, the crew
hardly working at the helm all night. And still we gained another 2,5 nm and some
height.
As we have been struggling for a month to keep up with Tupac, we have all become
good and fokused helmsmen. Even the fresh sailors have been reading the squalls,
trying to get most out of each shift of wind. And we have to continue to work hard
if we are going to get to the little island ahead of us with the winds that are
predicted in the forecasts we receive. They will continue to be easterly the next
week, increasing a little in strength.
Today we used the time when we waited for Tupac to become even better at sailing
balsas. We have been sailing on one tack, port tack, the whole way. At mid-day, when
we were all well rested after night watches, we made some different maneuvers. We
turned downwind a few times (kuvending). It was as some had expected, when we lifted
all guaras in front and lowered in the back she came about real easy. Stopped when
she had the wind astern. There we tested the new sheet and compared the sides of the
sail. When we lowered guaras in front and pulled them up in the back, she continued
around ontothe starboard tack. We also wanted to practice the coolest maneuver of
all – going over stay, tacking (stagvending). None of us have done it on a balsa raft
before, and the sailors are excited to test the maneuverability of the raft. We
decided not to do it today, but we will take our time and get in some more
guara-maneuvers before we reach Rapa Nui.
How far from land can frigatebirds be found?
(2015-12-07) A large frigatebird circled over the Tupac Yupanqui raft today. Our textbook on landfinding in the Pacific (called "We, the Navigators", on page 214) quotes various sources on the distance from land these birds may be spotted; the maximum distance varies between 75-150 miles. Now, at the time we first saw the bird, we were 580 nautical miles from Easter Island, and 420 nautical miles from Salas y Gómez. How can this be explained? Either, the experts quoted have it wrong. Or, more excitingly, we are close to a yet undiscovered island. A third option is that the the bird sniffed our delicious rice and beans, and rushed out to sea beyond what any firgatebird has ever done. Any other options?
Gonzalo Figueroa and the Norwegian Expedition
(2015-12-06) When the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition arrives in Rapa Nui
(Easter Island) we are halfway to complete the first roundtrip with
historical vessels in modern times, and we have also collected a great deal of environmental and oceanographical data that can provide
more knowledge about the Eastern Pacific. We do so exactly 60 years
after what is often referred to as "The Norwegian Expedition" of 1955-56. One
of many important results of that expedition – which
was led and financed by Thor Heyerdahl – was the first
re-erection of a moai on its ahu platform. Perhaps the most important
contribution was to start a serious debate about Rapa Nui – to
show the academic elite on Polynesian history, archaeology and
ethnology the importance of long-lasting fieldwork. Heyerdahl's
bestselling book about the Expedition ("Ahu-Ahu") describes how experts in different
fields worked together, and it brought international attention to Rapa
Nui.
Many people participated in the Norwegian Expedition 60 years ago, among
them Gonzalo
Figueroa, an archaeologist and authority on the conservation of
the archaeological heritage of Rapa Nui. Figueroa was only a
24-year-old graduate student in archaeology when he joined Heyerdahl's
expedition, with four professional archaeologists: Arne
Skjolsvold, William
Mulloy, Edwin Ferndon, and Carlyle Smith. Without Heyerdahl's initiative
and brave investment, talents like Figueroa might have had less
interesting careers. Figueroa got a flying start as an assistant and
then spent over four decades to conserve and restore the archaeological monuments of Rapa Nui for future generations. We are looking forward to seeing with our own eyes the results of Figueroa's
work!
Torgeir Higraff
Yet another Laugardag
by Kari Dahl
(2015-12-05) Saturday has become the favorite day of many of the crew of Rahiti
Tane. In the daytime we take our bedclothes, PJs, blankets and towels
out to dry. This day was especially nice because the sun is shining.
The women of the raft had their weekly bath up front, while the men
were hunting a dorado with a harpoon in the back. The hunt ended with
an empty pan, and the skipper made an attempt to make Tom Ka Gai, her
favorite soup. But with only coconut milk as ordinary ingredient, the
result was named "as-close-as-we-get-to-Thailand-on-this-trip". The
head of provision, Signe always has something especially delicious for
us to eat and drink on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tonight we are having
popcorn, and maybe a movie? (When I say this out loud, Boris says
"movie" and points to the horizon)
Deep-water CTD launched! And recovered!
(2015-12-05) The Kon-Tiki2 Expedition today launched a NIVA deep-water CTD into the ocean on an 2000 meter long rope (patched together from kevlar spaghetti). Even more impressively, the crew on Tupaq Yupanqui were able to bring the unit back up to the surface again, and recover data that had been recorded along the way. CTD stands for conductivity, temperature and depth, which translates to measuring salinity and temperature at various depths. Also, our CTD measures oxygen levels and chlorophyll. These measurements are important for oceanographers who try to understand how oceans work, and how they may be affected by climate change. When transmitting data from the CTD, the crew discovered that the CTD had reached a depth of 1140 meters. The difference is due to the raft drifting in winds and currents on the surface, while the CTD drifted in other currents further down. Kon-Tiki2's Chief Scientist Cecilie Mauritzen resides on the other raft, but followed the experiment closely over VHF radio.
In the pictures, one can see the CTD and the 3mm kevlar rope used in the operation. The rope is stored on an iron bobbin, while an electric winch helps pull the CTD back up onto the surface. The 900 watts electric winch ran on pure solar power, which would otherwise be wasted in the crew's personal entertainment systems. The whole operation took 4 hours. One of those hours were used to move the pulleys from one side of the raft to the other, to avoid having the rope churn on the raft.
End of the line
(2015-12-05) Each raft drags a safety line, a thick yellow synthetic rope with a floating device at the end. If someone falls into water, he or she must swim to the rope and hold onto it. Thankfully, this has never happened. Meanwhile, the rope also provides a fine line for tying the dinghy. On calm days, like yesterday, we can go out into the dinghy to get a new perspective on the raft, and ourselves. The rope is also home to a growing farm of Goose barnacles (andeskjell). Edible, perhaps?
Tupac from afar
(2015-11-04) A calm and sunny day at sea allowed Tupac Yupanqui residents to photograph their home from a distance. She's a beauty with the sun, sea, and sky all around her. The outboard motor for the small dinghy was left on the raft, but volunteer rowers provided plenty of muscle power to circle the slow-moving vessel. The gale which has taken us towards Easter Island for the last weeks was suddenly replaced by a lazy breeze this morning. The crews on both rafts used the opportunity to wash, swim and to dry clothes. On Rahiti, the sail was lowered and the mast was climbed.
The new pictures also allowed us to replace the picture of Tangaroa, which has been our masthead until now. An even better day will allow us to photograph both rafts, in the sun, with sails, and Easter island in the background. Just you wait.
Pål Børresen catches giant octopus
(2015-12-04) Pål Børrensen has secured proteins for a week to come on Rahiti Tane by catching a giant octopus! Pan-fried squid in garlic sauce was offered to a grateful crew for dinner tonight. Exactly how big the octopus was is uncertain as no pictures have escaped the raft, and the scale was left in Callao on purpose. However, we do have an authentic VHF conversation which describes the incident. Also Pål talks about looking for Easter Island from the top of the mast, and how his raft will win the race to the promised island. We'll sea.
In the pictures above, we can see that Pål likes good food and good company. He has a boyish smile which never leaves him, one that he generously shares with others – just like he did with the octopus. The last picture shows Pål at the top of the mast, today!
Raft fashion week
(2015-12-04) While the Kon-Tiki2 crew members fancy a tropical summer, the South Pacific has so far been colder and more cloudy than expected. Clothing is essential for our welfare, and we are happy to have jackets, shorts and t-shirts from Stormberg of Norway. Clothes from Stormberg shield our sailors at night, and improve their looks at daytime.
Request from our readers: Pictures of Bora!
Our raft doctor, Bora, is a favorite. Several of our readers have requested more pictures of the man, and an army of volunteers have been hard at work to fulfill demand. The rare pictures seen here have passed not once, but twice, through the Iridium satellite systems. Some bits got lost up there somewhere, but we can still recognize Bora and other crew members. Bora wisely keeps his medicine chest locked, but is otherwise a most generous crew member.
Kon-Tiki2 in 35 seconds
(2015-12-03) In this video clip, Håkon Wium Lie gives a brief summary of the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition in English: why are we doing this? Where is South America? Where is Easter Island? Epic drone footage from one of our rare sunny days is also included. The raw video file is here. We encourage reuse for educational and news purposes.
Something bigger than ourselves?
(2015-12-03) The Tupac Yupanqui raft has advanced echo sounders from Kongsberg Maritime mounted below water. We try to run them around 6 hours per day, power permitting. The researchers who will analyze the recorded data when we reach shores are especially interested in soundings at dusk and dawn. Yesterday evening we noticed something big under our raft. Look below the 100 meter depth line in the first picture. Experts say it's not a school of fish. A megaloden, perhaps? The second image is also interesting. It show how running the three-stage sampler a few metres from the echo sounders introduces noise. The third picture shows the echo sounders before they were attached to the raft, while the fourth shows how they are mounted under the raft. Time for a below-water cleaning day, perhaps?
Video in native Norwegian: Why are we doing this?
(2015-12-02) These video clips provide short introductions to the Kon-Tiki2 project, in the native Norwegian of Torgeir Higraff and Håkon Wium Lie. We have video editing capabilities on the rafts, but bandwidth restrictions make it difficult to upload video clips. We hope to add English-language versions in due course. You can also find find the video files here and here. We encourage reuse for educational and news purposes.
What the Ocean would have said. On oxygen @ cop21
by Cecilie Mauritzen, Chief Scientist, the Kon Tiki 2 Expedition, Lead author of the 4th and 5th Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Dear delegates, dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honor to be given the floor at the 21st Conference of the Parties here
in Paris – a meeting of enormous consequences for Earth, its elements, and all its
creatures, great and small. The agreements that are reached at the 2015 climate
summit will have consequences for times so far into the future that only the ocean
and the mountains will remember.
Today I wish to turn your attention to an aspect of climate change that you have
quite possibly never considered. It is an issue of great importance and grave
consequences for the ocean, namely that of oxygen depletion. You may not know this,
but the animals in the ocean need oxygen to live, just like the animals at land.
And, as on land, it is the plants that produce the oxygen. In fact, the ocean
normally produces much more oxygen than it needs, and therefore shares its oxygen
with the animals in land, including you humans. Nearly half the oxygen you use
originates in the ocean. So you see, we, the Ocean, provide a great service as
oxygen producer to all Earth's creatures, wherever they live.
And I tell you about this because I fear that we, the Ocean, cannot continue to
provide this service at the same high standard much longer. We cannot even supply
enough oxygen for our own creatures anymore. "Why?" you may ask. Well, the ultimate
reason is the emission of carbon dioxide associated with combustion of fossil fuels.
This emission creates temperature increases in the ocean, just like on land. And
when the surface ocean gets warmer it gets more buoyant, making it difficult to mix
the surface waters with the deep water. Here it gets a little complicated, but no
less important: the ocean plants that produce the oxygen live in the surface waters.
Less mixing by the winds means less oxygen transported downwards, to where the ocean
animals need it. And less mixing means fewer nutrients coming up from the deep ocean
to provide food for the ocean plants. Less food means fewer plants and thereby even
less oxygen production. This is a worrysome trend that we, the Ocean, worry
deeply about, not just because it affects our own creatures, but because it affects
all Earth's creatures, great and small, rich and poor, women and man, child and old.
There is only one way to stop this worrysome trend, namely to curb the emissions of
carbon dioxide. Every day and every year that you postpone this decision, we, the
Ocean, weakens and our services – which you all depend upon – deteriorate. We beg
of you: if not for us, then your you, make a decision. Produce an agreement at this
summit that will put us, the Ocean, back on the path towards health, so that we can,
once again, be the top quality oxygen producer that all Earth's creatures, great and
small, depend upon.
Thank you kindly for listening.
Most humbly,
We, the Ocean.
Small joys
By Gunvor and Signe
On Rahiti Tane, we are quite good at enjoying the small things. Finding a tiny 5cm
flying fish on deck in the morning, dry socks, changing to a clean and dry
pillowcase, pineapplerings for dessert, clean underwear, dry underwear (dry anything
at all really), realising that we have larger amounts of flour than we thought and
so can bake more bread, chocolate on wednesdays and saturdays, red nail polish,
finishing a book and immediately starting a new one, not being sleepy on night watch
for once, starry skies, dry shoes (lasts about 15 minutes).
Seeing schools of flying fish, the sun breaking through the clouds. Receiving an
e-mail from friends. And last but not least: when someone cleans your dinner bowl for you.
How I was alone in the Pacific ocean
By Andrey
(2015-12-01) Yesteday, Torgeir decided to put on the water our rubber boat to
take pictures of Tupac from other point. In Russia we call such boat
"Tuzik". It means something, looking very stupid and undependable. We
clipped the boat with a carabine to our yellow safety-rope and David
and Torgeir floated separately from the raft for fifteen minutes. I
was cooking spaghetti that moment. I'm not sure, will we have a
possibility to put the Tuzik on the water one more time until Easter
Island, and will I have a passion for such floating? So, I decided
that it is my last chance to be "alone in the Pacific". I asked Ola to
take over for me in the kitchen and went to the aft. There I put on my
lifejacket, took a camera and got into the Tuzik. When I was jumping
on the waves which were much more sensible than on the raft, I
realised two things. First: I'm on the toy-boat above 4000 meters of
abyss. Second: it looks absolutely stupid, but very fun, exciting and
cool! I've made some pictures of Tupac, wich was grandly and
self-reliantly climbing on the waves, some photos of Tupac's green
beard and some selfies. Then I asked Jostein to bring me back on the
stable raft. And than Jostein tried this attraction. When I pulled him
back, i jokingly thought that there is not so much spaghetti for seven
people. We laughed at this joke and went to have a dinner. Achievement
unlock "alone in the Pacific". Next achievment is "slap the shark's
fin"!
Real food
(2015-11-30) Today was a special day on the Tupac Yupanqui. Sunshine from the morning allowed the crew to charge the batteries fully from the solar panels, and to even put some cold beverage in the cooler. Best of all, each crew member were allowed a ration from their favorite food source: Real Turmat. As you can see from these happy pictures, it beats rice and beans. Three stars from the southern skies awarded!
Dinghy gives perspective
(2015-12-01) Each raft carries a small dinghy, for safety and convenience. Yesterday, Tupac Yupanqui launched their's to check that it floats, and to take some photographs of the raft from a distance. David and Torgeir went out first, and some of Torgeir's pictures can be seen above. Others followed. Andrey, when asked if he found some good angles for his camera said: "The pictures are not so important. What's important is being in a rubber dinghy with 4000 metres of salty water right underneath".
Obituary
by Cecilie Mauritzen
Monday was supposed to be a day of joy on Rahiti Tane. Everything was good: sailing
speed, the half moon at (supposedly) sunrise, and breakfast in bed for Esteban, who
turned 29 today. Again. We took the reefs out of the sails, to cruise even faster,
we celebrated birthday lunch and dinner with our favourites: rice, beans, lentls,
onions and garlic; the sun sprang out of the cloudy sky for our afternoon coffee and
birthday cake, and... THEN EVERYTHING started happening: both fishing rods reported
catches: the birthday boy swiftly took one rod, Pål the other until they realizred
they had hooked eachother. A quick reshuffle of people and rods were arranged. And
Esteban pulled in half a flying fish! The bait, it appared. Whereas Pål continued to
reel in and – supposedly – "fight" with the fish (a rather lopsided competition, if
you ask me), with Kari and Esteban screaming bloody murder. They looked unusually
scary with their double and triple hooks (remember: until now we have only
managed to catch one single fish, and as much as we love rice, beans, lentls, onions
and garlic, it was exciting to think of a variation). So we all watched this game,
which took nearly half an hour, and which ended in a bloodbath too intense for the
gentlehearted: Bora, Signe and myself. Anyways, the fish died, was fileed and
cleaned, and will provide us omega-3 for the rest of the journey. Now, at this point
you might think that the excitement and the obituary ended, but no: as we are all
trying to settle down after "the great hunt" two things happened: first: a gigantic
wave broke through the floorboards in the cabin, throwing 5-gallon water bottles
high into the air, together with survival suits and Bora's medical box. And at the
same time the fish hook, which was sort of left floating off the stern of the raft
after "the great hunt" was eaten by a seagull who mistook it for a dead fish. So
Kari pulls in the line, picks up the bird, talks gently to it and condems it to death.
Meanwhile, the rest of us tries to deal with the floorboard. It was a very fine
floorboard. Now we have protected it with three times as many waterbottles. So come
on, waves, se if you can beat THAT! Anyways, this obituary is in reality for the bird, first and foremost. Why are these
birds here, and why do they have to die on our raft? We are very very sorry. It was
a very fine bird. R.I.P.
Celebrating Esteban!
(2015-11-30) Crew member Esteban Contreras celebrated his 39th birthday today! On the Rahiti Tane, he was served breakfast in bed: tea, bread w/jam – and an apple! Pål had saved the apple for 3 weeks and it will be the last apple seen by the crew before arriving in Easter Island. However, Esteban's favorite gift today was to sail Rahiti Tane in good winds and sun. In this authenic VHF converation Esteban elaborates on being a team member, on being sick the first week, and on returning to his Chilean roots – on a raft!
The pictures above show that Esteban is comfortable both behind, and in front of, a camera. His communication skills were vital during our time in Callao, and Esteban also quickly stepped up to the task of being the raft electrician. He is a team player who adds energy, vitality and fun to our expedition.
Pacific cuisine on Rahiti Tane, week 3
by Signe
This week we ran out of carrots, bananas and worst of all: cheese! Parmesan cheese
holds well, and we wish we had brought more – it was still very tasty. Anyways, it
has been a good food week, kickstarted by Sunday lunch which consisted of fresh
bread, omelette and fried rice. We felt like kings. Friday was a special day, we
were HALFWAY to Easter Island! The occasion was celebrated with soda, chips and
little parasols in our drinks.
The menu for the rest of the week is listed below:
Sunday: Curry with coconut milk, beans, bananas and rice
Monday: Lentil stew with rice
Tuesday: Pancakes
Wednesday: Chick peas in peanut coconut sauce with rice and the last carrots
Thursday: Onion soup with the last parmesan, and fried bananas for dessert
Friday: Spaghetti with tomato sauce
Saturday: Rice with creamed mushroom sauce
Up until now half of our food has been stored away in the boxes we sleep on, but
today it was hauled out and our food boxes on deck are full again. We have enough
dried beans, lentils and peas to last us a lifetime. Didn't catch a single fish this
week, even though many have tasted our hooks but changed their mind and let go at
the last second.
I'd like to say a few words about the most fantastic piece of kitchen equipment we
have: the pressure cooker! This beautiful wonderful pot cooks rice to perfection
every time, with only half the use of propane gas. Just put water and rice, lentils
and beans into the pot, heat until it hisses, turn off the gas and wait for 15
minutes. Voila! For potatoes it's maybe even better, just put the potatoes and 2cm
of salt water into the pot, and follow the procedure above. This way we save both
water and gas. However, the potatoes we have smell and taste so bad that we've only
eaten them once, and now we usually just throw a dirty look in their direction every
now and then.
On that note, I'll finish up, and urge whoever is reading this to send creative
ideas about what to eat – when our onions run out in a few days and the only
vegetable we have left is garlic (and the odd tinned tomato).
[Signe and Gunvor can be reached on sailors.rahiti@myiridium.net]
Raft fashion week
(2015-11-30) Due to reasons we not quite understand, the weather has been colder than expected on Kon-Tiki2. Thankfully, we all have underwear from Brynje of Norway, which keeps us warm and happy. Really, without them we would have been more miserable. It has become quite fashionable to walk around on deck sporting one's underwear, and some even clean fish or check the Manta trawl in them. Captain Kari shows off the slightly thicker version with an extra large smile.
Uplink
(2015-11-29) If you have been following the stories posted on
this site, you may have seen a pattern; we publish many
pictures of the Rahiti Tane raft, and even more
pictures from the Tupac Yupanqui raft. Why is this? Today is
no exception: the first picture is of the Rahiti Tane this morning, taken from Tupac Yupanqui. To
the right of the huge wave, you will see a person in an orange suit.
Our guess it that Gunvor is out on deck, wearing proper protection
gear. The second picture is the iron bobbin on Tupac Yupanqui,
lovingly handcrafted at the SIMA shipyard and now partially filled
with recovered kevlar rope. It also serves
as a table for the crew. Picture 3, 4, and 5 shows the solution to the
question: our uplink antenna on Tupac Yupanqui. While both rafts can send and receive email using the Iridium GO, the GO cannot upload high-resolution images or video clips. For this, another
antenna is necessary and we us the Iridium Pilot. It's bigger, much
more expensive, and it requires patience and multiple retries to
upload files or fetch web pages. But, with the right software tools, you can actually
maintain a web site and report preliminary research results. Essential tools include Opera Mini, Opera Max, Opera Turbo, lynx, wget and rsync.
Laugardag
by Kari Dahl
The tradition of cleaning ship and crew on Saturdays has long been a part of my
life. On Rahiti Tane we are four women and three men. We all clean the ship
together, wash the solar panels, swipe indoors, shift the mats around and hang our
sleeping bags out to get the smell out.
The women started taking a bath together on the first Saturday at
sea. This has become a fun highlight of the week for us. Yesterday, it
was pretty cold, and we decided to postpone Laugardag. But, as we had
lost sight of Tupac due to some really hard night sailing, we put in
two søft/reefs to wait for them, and the operation made us
sweat enough to to through with baths as planned. We put on our pink
matching underwear for the occation. The water is pleasant now, 21
degrees.
[Editor's note: the picture of the female crew on Rahiti attached to this story is a breakthrough in both fashion and technology. It is the first digital image that has escaped Rahiti Tane by satellite. The resolution is close to the first pictures from tbe moonlanding, but colors are more intense. As is the looks in the eyes of the Laugardag partcipants. We hope more images, and more Laugardags, will follow.]
Showing true colors
by Cecilie Mauritzen
We are in some little stormcenter, and everyone is a little cranky. For the third
day in a row, water is exploding up from under the beds every time a huge wave hits.
Worst off is Kari, the captain. Water even found its way splashing into her sleeping
bag. So she has arranged her bed with every kind of protection against splashes you
can think of: ropes, towels, garbage bags, survival suits, rain jacket, you name it,
she's got it. And the funny thing about Kari is that no matter how bad it is she
finds a funny way to describe it and then she pulls out yet another item her mother
has sent along which will improve the situation.
For a while I envied everybody their rain boots, but now that the Pacific is showing
its true colors I see boots are not that useful. It is not a question of hours, but
minutes, until they are filled with water. As Gunvor puts it: "normally when you're
out sailing the water comes from above, not below!". Here, the wave builds up from
beneath, finds its way into you rainpants, an then down into your boots. In minutes.
So I don't envy those boots so much anymore :)
Everything is humid. Skin is cracking -deeply – on our hands and feet, so we
speculated for a while that we were turning into a leper colony out here. But its
the humidity. The clothes may LOOK dry once in a while, but that's only an optical
illusion. Our Saturday snack – specifically: Pringles – turned to impotent mush in
less than five minutes. As usual, Esteban verbalizes what everybody thinks: "I am
sick of being wet all the time!".
The Pacific is showing its true colors: not so "pacific", not so blue... But we
won't give up. We've seen the weather forecast. We know we will get our fantasy
Pacific back. One day :)
Half-way celebration
(2015-11-28) The two Kon-Tiki2 rafts both passed the half-way mark today, and the occasion was duly celebrated. Rahiti Tane celebrated with with pancackes and extra rations for all. In a moving ceremony, the two last drifters were put to sea. National anthems were sung, including the Norwegian and the Russian. At Tupac Yupanqui, celebrations started with a most delicious chocolate cake. Part two was the ceremonial opening of a rare bottle of apple juice from Håkon's apple orchard. The third, and final, stage, was the opening of a wonderfully wrapped gift from our not-so-secret admirers on Rahiti Tane. Each of the crew received one pair of boxer shorts with personal inscriptions. Andrey looked stylish wearing the new garment on his head, and others soon took after this ancient Russian custom. Dried apple snacks and other calorific content was also included in the generous package, and the crew toasted to our friends on Rahiti, to raft life in general, and to the next 1000 miles.
What would the Ocean have Said?
Thoughts at the dawn of the 2015 Climate Summit in Paris
by Cecilie Mauritzen, Chief Scientist, the Kon Tiki 2 Expedition, Lead author of the 4th and 5th Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
What is it about nature? Why is it so beautiful? Why is it ALWAYS so beautiful? Why
does it hide so well all its scars and bruises? Why does it let us get away with it
all?
I sit on a balsa raft in the Pacific Ocean, leisurely sailing from Peru to Easter
Island. I watch the swells go by, the sun come and go, the small squalls pass by,
the winds steadily blowing out of the southeast, allowing us, just barely, to steer
so far upwind that we have a justified hope of reaching Easter Island before
Christmas. In fact, we are two rafts, and both are packed to capacity with research
equipment to document the state of the southeast Pacific during this (southern
hemisphere) spring, which happens to be in a gigantic El Nino year.
One of the rafts, the Tupac Yupanqui, is dedicated to monitoring plastic pollution.
We are crossing one of the five major plastic accumulation regions ("gyres") of the
World Oceans, and we have brought many different instruments to acquire a solid data
base on this year's gyre. But what do we see? Nothing. Nada. Okey, a coke bottle
twice so far, but otherwise: not one thing. The steady, intense winds have
efficiently mixed down the plastic so that it looks just as gorgeous as it did 70
years ago when Thor Heyerdahl crossed these seas with the Kon Tiki. "Our" Pacific is
probably a bit greyer than the blue colors his crew so eloquently described, but
that's because of the weather, not because of some color contamination.
Our instruments will be able to detect particles smaller than the human eye can see,
and will be able to record with high precision what the broken-down plastic - the
microplastic - consists of and where it most likely came from. Our research
therefore adds to the never-ending, painstaking collecting of data that has been the
task of the scientist since times immemorial. And microplastic is one of those
particularly insidious pollutants; it attracts toxins and it folows the food web of
the marine ecosystem, thus slowly poisoning the entire chain. But it doesn't really
matter what the scientist collects, does it? Because no one can see it. Can't see
the plastic in the oceans nor the poison in the animals. The ocean is gorgeous. And
the animal life is up to par. I see dolphins, dorados, whales, flying fish and a
multitude of birds. In fact, our raft has turned into its own little ecosystem which
we monitor with cameras every day. To us, the marine life looks nothing but happy.
My raft, the Rahiti Tane, is packed with equipment to monitor climate change. We
measure ocean temperature, ocean CO2-content, ocean oxygen content, ocean acidity.
We know the oceans are behaving like a huge buffer in Earth's big effort to mitigate
climate change: the oceans take up a third of all the CO2 that mankind emits every
year. And it takes up almost all the heat created by climate change. Almost all!
Sure, the global atmospheric temperature is rising, decade by decade, with all its
consequences in terms of heat waves, extrem weather, floods and droughts. But that's
only a few percent of the heat accumulated on Earth. More than 90 % of that heat is
stored, each year, in the oceans. How is that for an efficient buffer? Without the
oceans we would already be facing much harsher changes due to climate change. The
oceans spare us from facing reality. Damned nature.
Meanwhile I rock gently back and forth on my raft – the Rahiti Tane, so full of
personality and crewed with such a lovely croup of people – genuinely proud to be
running a full-scale research program purely on solar power. I think of all the
interesting research questions I get to address. My only concern is that we are
running out of fuses. (Well, and that we are almost out of chocolate...). And then
the thought strikes me: this is all in vain. Nobody will care. There cannot possibly
be anything wrong with something so beautiful. Damned nature.
Could the ocean, even if it were sitting at the negotiating table at the climate
summit in Paris, arguing for the strong climate agreement it really needs, convince
anybody to sign anything? I do not know. Because the ocean is SO beautiful. But what
would it have said? Now, THAT is an interesting question.
I, Bora
by Boris Romanov, transcribed by Kari Dahl
(2015-11-28) Bora loves the team and life on board.
He can not cook, but is happy to wash the plates.
Yesterday he fixed the guara, and without experience with wood, but managed fine
together with Esteban.
He likes steering a course. Right now he is playing it like a trombone while singing
"My Way".
He lost his iPhone and he lost a sock. He believes Triton has good use for it, and
is happy to lend them to him. But he is happy that he found his swimming trunks.
From time to time he dreams of a dry and quiet bed. And also dry shoes.
And it is time to catch fish, the level of protein in the body might be low.
His head is very clean and he feels very good.
Balsa Mama
by Guvor Storaas
(2015-11-28) Today I want to give you a guided tour onboard at Rahiti Tane, or Balsa Mama as we
have started to call her. At 03.45 in the morning it all starts for me. Bora, our
Russian doctor, tickles my foot to wake me up. It is time to take the 0400-0800
watch. When I open my eyes I see straight over to the navigation desk. The GPS glows
like a bug in the dark. It tells our speed, position and course over ground. On the
port side of me Cecilie, our scientist, wobbles up and down on her inflatable
matress. On the starbord side lies Esteban, our carpenter, photographer and Chilean.
He almost always lies in a lotus position, wonder how that is possible in a
sleepingbag. Anyways, to get out, I have to climb over a box filled with scientific
equipment. All this happens inside the hut, which is placed in the middle of the
raft. Up til now it has been quite dry in there. But these last couple of days, the
captain has complained about water in her bunk. So as the raft sinks down in the
sea, and the sea builds up to 4 meter waves, we regulary get the deck cleaned, both
inside and outside. Also inside we have the office department, or the scientific
area. Cecilie sits there all day long, just outside to take the met-observation,
drink a cup of coffee and watch the sunrise.
Because watching the sunrise, drink a cup of coffee and when the sunrise is good,
listen to "Morgenstemning" by Grieg, has become a ritual onboard. It all happens in
the stern, where we steer the raft. That area is also called the bubblebath-area.
All the waves comes in there. It is also nice to take a swim in the eddy behind the
raft, if you want a relaxing swimming trip. If you want more action, you can take
your swimming on the side of the raft. With a rope around your waist, you can swim
as long as you keep the raft's speed. The swimming-area is next to what we call the
livingroom. This is in the leeward side of the hut. We have three boxes to sit on,
and the best view in the whole Pacific. Flying fish, dorados, dolphins, whales
coming up 1,5 m from the raft, birds, all kinds of entertainment happens here. This
is also the best place to tan, because there is no wind. It is Pål's favourite place
on the raft I think, cause he always sits there reading his book.
In the front of the hut, we have the kitchen. This is where Signe is the boss. She
has all kinds of secrets since she is the stuert, the person responsible for food
onboard. We have lots of pots and pans, and can make all kinds of food. Lasange,
bread, pancakes are some of the favourites. In the front we also have lots of space.
Esteban uses it to practice yoga. I like to hang upside down in the sail there. We
also got some guaras, some more scientific equipment and tools there. On the port
side of the hut, we have the "lesesal". This is were Kari likes to bring her book.
Leaning on the dinghy, which is placed up towards the hutwall. And not to forget our
toilet which is behind the dinghy, in the back on the port side. These days when we
have waves up till 4 m, it is very exciting to sit there. The toilet is on the
windward side, same as the waves. So one have to make sure that your pants don't
get filled with water as you sit there.
Finally in the far front, we have the shower. Bora uses it every day. The
bottom logs continue 2,5 m after the deck, and all the waves hitting the raft make a
shower. The area is regulary used by the whole crew. On saturdays the men are
banished to the back of the raft, so the female part of the crew can undress and
take a shower. The temperature is 21 degrees, says Cecilie's instruments.
So this is our raft and a part of our daily life. We would like to have visitors, so
if you happen to be just between Peru and the Easter Island, you are more than
welcome to visit.
How much plastics do we find?
(2015-11-27) We try to run the Manta trawl daily. It sifts through Pacific water for an hour or two, looking for plastics on the side of the Tupac Yupanqui. We have not found large amounts of plastics, at least not enough to conclude that we are in a plastic gyre. However, we always find plactic fragments, and these pictures document today's catch. In picture 1, a small blue fragment is seen in the sift we use when emptying the trawl. In picture 2, today's three fragments can be seen, including a soft, transparent, round piece of plastic onto which plantlife has attached itself. The underlying grid is 5mm. Picture 3 shows plastic line fragments that were attached to our fishing line this morning — this is also a common occurrence. Picture 4 could be plastic, but isn't. These are small blue animals of some kind. Can someone help us identify them? Picture 5 and 6 shows plastic which is securely attached to our raft: a birthday balloon for Ola, and (on the lower right side) empty water bottles. Fortunately, we have 4000 metres of kevlar line to tie these up with.
Celebrating Ola
(2015-11-27) Another birthday was celebrated mid-ocean today as Ola turned 24. He was woken to (a meager) breakfast in bed, and then called up by the legendary Rahiti Tane VHF Raft Choir, feat. their lead singer Bora. Ola's crewmates baked one of Baker Hansen's famous bread recipies, with just enough salt water. Other treats on the table included mustard, our last piece of cheese, and jam. Gifts were presented, and a blue balloon hung to mark the occation. Plastic. Must remember to dispose of properly.
Water, water, everywhere...
(2015-11-27) ... still many drops to drink. The video shows Torgeir in a heroic effort to save water bottles from underneath the deck. They were stored there until we realized that the evermoving sea was rough on them, and that some started taking in salt water. Tupac Yupanqui lost around 300 litres of potable water, but this is less than 10% of our supplies and we have plenty of water for the rest of our journey to Easter Island. We may have to refill our supplies there. This is less than ideal, as water is a precious resource on the island.
Gunvor Storaas, a true sailoress
(2015-11-27) Gunvor Storaas is one of the true sailors onboard Rahiti Tane. She not only sails, the also teaches sailing at our favorite school: Fosen. In this authentic VHF conversation Gunvor discloses the hardships her students suffer, and what motivates a 16-year old girl to take up traditional wooden boats as a hobby. If you have the same urge, you should also head for the Hardanger Maritime Center.
The pictures above reveal a smiling, hard-working, and social person – one who can both prepare for a challenge, and be part of it. (Editor's disclosure: the views expressed in this paragraph may be influenced by the fact that Gunvor bribed him with bowl of delicious mango chutney while on board the Rahiti Tane.)
Snake mackerel, anyone?
(2015-11-26) In Thor Heyerdahl's book about the Kon-Tiki Expedition, he writes about about a special fish:
The fish was over three feet long, as slender as a snake, with dull black eyes and a long snout with a greedy jaw full of long sharp teeth ... Bengt too was woken at last by all the noise. He sat up drowsily in his sleeping bag and said solemnly: "No, fish like that doesn't exist" ... Bengt was not far wrong. It appeared later that we six sitting round the lamp in the bamboo cabin were the first men to have seen this fish alive.
The number of men who have seen this fish alive increased as of last night. Ola, who now tops the Tupac Yupanqui fishing charts, caught the beast during night watch. The fish has not been eaten. We may be hungry at times, but we're not that hungry. Yet.
Thanksgiving on the rafts
(2015-11-26) There are no turkeys to be eaten on the Kon-Tiki2 rafts, but the crew is still thankful on this day:
Cecilie is thankful for the camaraderie with follow sailors and the peace of being without news of
war and aggression
Kari is thankful to have a crew who stands tall when it matters the most
Pål is grateful for his family
Signe (yawns) is grateful for staying in bed a little longer (12-4 watch)
Esteban is grateful to be part of this expedition
Boris stands next to him and is also grateful for this adventure, and he is happy to
do all the jobs he gets (right now he is making an improvised guara board). And he comes
over and says "and we are lucky to have the wind on our faces"
Gunvor appreciates that she has the opportunity to be at sea, the moments, challenges and experiences
Jostein is thankful for this expedition and to all who has made it possible. He is especially thankful for new friends from Fosen, for all the experience and learning, for all the memories I have had and will get, and for the adventure!
Øyvin is thankful for having had two hours of sailing straight towards Easter Island today
Ola is thankful for good wind and sunshine
Torgeir is thankful that we still have food, for the rice an beans we have left, and for the fish we caught
Andrey is thankful to those who helped build the rafts
David is thankful for being away from the news
Håkon is thankful for the satellites above us, and for solar panels
A tour of our mast
(2015-11-26) The mast on Tupac Yupanqui is 15 metres high. It has several functions. First, it holds the yard with the sail. Second, it has some technical installations, including two VHF antennas and a weather station. Last, but not least, the mast is our flagpole. To make sure these vital function continue to work, the mast was inspected today. David was hoisted up first, then Håkon, who brought his camera. Pictures can hardly convey the near-religious experience one has in the top of such mast. Especially in 15 knots wind with 2 meter waves. Thankfully, a strong crew ensured a smooth return to to the somewhat safer deck.
Raft sushi
(2015-11-25) The tuna caught earlier today was turned into a fantastic birthday dinner, by Torgeir, for Torgeir. The protein-challenged crew followed the chef's prepartions with hungry eyes in our open-air kitchen. For desert: a magnificant sunset.
In other news, we have taken stock of our fresh water supplies on Tupac Yupanqui. We have lost around 300 litres of potable water due to salt water intrusion. This, however, is less than 10% of our supplies and we have plenty of water for the rest of our journey to Easter Island. We may have to refill our supplies there. This is less than ideal, as water is a precious resource on the island. Can't we just collect rain water? Nope. We've had very little rain on the journey so far, mostly we have mist-like precipitation at night.
Gratulerer med dagen, TH#2!
For Torgeir Higraff, on his 43rd birthday, by P. J. Capelotti
Despite instantaneous global communications and all of the impatience they have
spawned, many explorers still yearn to understand the slow mechanisms by which
ancient people created the original global economy. For them, it is no shock that we
of the modern world did not invent worldwide trade networks. They understand that we
have merely accelerated connections that were created by transoceanic explorers
thousands of years ago. The moment Kon-Tiki reached Polynesia successfully, all of
the world’s oceans, especially the Pacific, became archaeological seas, where people
could explore not just the present and the future, but the remote past of our
distant ancestors. Inside the global oceanic laboratory Thor Heyerdahl created,
Torgeir Higraff seeks nothing less than to understand the paths of human global
exploration. The sailor tacks against the wind, the drifter must of necessity
journey wherever the wind blows. One fights nature, one submits to it. The sailor is
heroic, the drifter, romantic. Even though the drifter often raises sail, he does so
only with the wind directly – or very nearly so – at his back. This is not in any way to
suggest that one can drift on a balsa raft knowing nothing about the rudiments of
sailing. It is merely to propose that we still know how to sail, in a systematic
way, because sailboats are still in use all over the world. On the other hand, it is
very likely that no one had attempted a transoceanic voyage on a raft for at least
several hundred years prior to the Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947. Now, after the
expeditions of Thor Heyerdahl and Torgeir Higraff, we are close to understanding how
such craft were navigated in prehistory.
Gratulerer med dagen, TH#2!
Congratulations, Torgeir Higraff!
(2015-11-25) Kon-Tiki2 Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff celebrated his 43th birthday today, at 14 degrees South, 92 degrees West. He was greeted by the Rahiti Tane Raft Choir, in a special performance of Hurra for deg. Raft doctor and media celebrity Boris Romanov then performed his own interpretation, to be included on the B-side of the single. In an unprecedented move, Torgeir's crewmates at Tupac Yupanqui had baked a chocolate cake! Andrey performed a celebratory tune on his banjo, and Håkon gave a speech where he thanked Torgeir for continuing Thor Heyerdahl's legacy and for giving the crew a chance to join his Expedition. Ola had not one, but two special gifts for Torgeir. First, a self-caught tuna fish (which bravely fought against his fate: birthday dinner for Torgeir!). Second, a self-made fid (which is used when splicing rope).
Rainbow over Rahiti Tane
(2015-11-25) A beautiful rainbow graced Rahiti Tane this morning. In the picture, you can see the full rainbow, part of the sail on Tupaq Yupanqui, and – with difficulty – a small dot on the horizon, which is the Rahiti Tane raft (inside the rainbow, on the left side). The smallness is due to the wide-angled lens, and the superior sailing by the Rahiti Tane crew. As a bonus picture, we add a zoomed sunset view of Rahiti Tane last night.
In other news, we are aware of reports of an earthquake in Peru. Here at sea, 800 nautical miles from the Peruvian coastline, we have not seen or felt anything unusual during the night watch. Thanks to those who reported, we appreciate your concern.
Flyt Forlag
(2015-11-24) For our English-speaking audience, this story offers pictures of happy people reading real paper books on a raft in the Pacific. However, if you read Norwegian, you should look more closely. On the shelves of Rahiti Tane, Signe picks out her favorite book from Flyt Forlag, a Norwegian publisher specializing in maritime books. Our bookshelves are stacked with books from Flyt forlag, to Øyvin's delight. He is our most avid reader, and has – really – read through most of the collection on Tupac Yupanqui. Ola is also an eager reader, while Håkon has found that the drifters provide perfect back support for reading about Colin Archer. Many of the books are about past expeditions, reminding us that we are not the first adventurers to sail the oceans. Others are self-help books, like Lær å seile ("Learn to sail"). Perhaps we should have read that one before we set out?
One of the favorite titles on our journey is Flåteferder i Kon-Tikis kjølvann (orignal title "Sea Drift: Rafting Adventures in the Wake of Kon-Tiki") written by J. P. Capelotti. It so happens that the author has sent a greeting to the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition. He writes;
This is a fascinating
experiment and one I know will lead to new insights into the navigation of
prehistoric routes between the Americas and Polynesia. Lykke til!
Thank you, perhaps we can provide a new chapter for the next edition?
Sunshine!
By Cecilie Mauritzen, Chief Scientist of the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition
It is Tuesday November 24, we are west of 90 W, and we have entered a new type of
weather, after being pounded with strong southeasterlies, huge swells, and cloudy,
humid conditions for more than two weeks. Today was sunny, calm and wonderful. So
sunny in fact, that we pulled out yet another instrument from the Rahiti Tane
toybox. In this case a "Microtop" to measure aerosol optical depth of the atmosphere
over oceans. These instruments require a clear view of the sun, so ours had so far
been collecting dust.
With the Microtop measurements we participate in a global network
of 500 voluntary ships who contribute to monitor how the aerosol
content of the atmosphere changes with space and time. The
program is coordinated by NASA. Remember, these particles have an
overall cooling effect on the atmosphere, but regionally they can have
a huge impact on how temperature and even precipitation varies from
place to place. So that's why it is so important that the voluntary
ships keep collecting their data, year in and year out. And today, we
did our little part :)
Why are we sailing rafts to Easter Island an back to South America?
by Kon-Tiki2 Expedition leader Torgeir Higraff
Thor Heyerdahl proved that ancient South Americans could
drift across the Pacific on their rafts. It was a ethnological theory
he worked on all his career. Is there more to be done? I think so, and
this is what the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition is all about.
Kon-Tiki could not be steered, they could not set a course, keep it,
nor define destination. The Kon-Tiki could never have reached a
specific target, especially not Easter Island which is too far south
for the prevailing currents. Still, Heyerdahl was the first to provide
knowledge about balsarafts in modern times. He provoked the archaologists and
ethnologists to dig into the prehistory of Polynesia, and inspired
millions of people academically.
Heyerdahl proved that balsa rafts could carry people for months at sea. But
ancient South Americans could do more: they could steer their rafts,
and navigate anywhere in the Pacific. When wind and current push us on
Rahiti Tane and Tupac Yupanqui north, we sail towards west and even
southeast. How is this possible? Because we are not copying Kon-Tiki,
we are copying the rafts from prehistory and early history based on
archaeological and historical evidence Heyerdahl was not aware of in
1947. Coastal maritime civilizations in South America had
sophisticated navigation skills. Like them, we use guara boards (also
called dagger boards) to set course. On our rafts, we adjust he guara
boards day and night and we document all major movements of the boards.
Recent
studies have shown that South American DNA entered Easter Island
between 1300AD and 1500AD. The Kon-Tiki2 Expedition shows how people
could have travelled there, and how they sailed back. We also present
how Polynesians could sail their rafts to South America. Noone have
sailed between Easter Island and South America on a raft in modern
times. We are well on our way on the first leg, but the biggest
challenges are still ahead.
(2015-11-24) Boris Romanov is the medical doctor of the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition. In this authetic VHF conversation, he discusses medical incidents on our rafts, appendectomies (not his favorite topic), and his fellow Russian doctor Yuri Senkevich. Yuri joined several of Thor Heyerdahl's expeditions and later became a well-respected TV personality in the USSR. Perhaps Boris also have a career in media? You heard him here first!
The pictures above reveal that Boris is both serious and humorous. This is a good combination for a raft doctor – he is serious enough for us to trust him with our lives, and he's humorous enough for his fellow crew on Rahiti Tane to enjoy his company for six weeks.
Another beautiful day
(2015-11-24) The weather has improved and we now have hours of sun every day. This is good for solar panels and crew. In the first picture, the men of Tupac Yupanqui raise the sails. Later, they discover that water bottles stowed underneath their beds have been damaged by the constant movements of the raft. The bottles are moved to the front deck to check for salt content. Meanwhile, a beautiful Peruvian booby came flying by, looking for a snack. The little fellow in picture 5 hid in the Manta trawl, which primarily tries to find plastics. Who is he, and what is he doing at the surface? Did he live on our raft, and jumped ship? Or, is he a representative of the crustaceans, which the white-bellied storm petrel – yesterday's mystery bird, identified by several readers, thanks! – is known to eat? The diameter of the shell is 8-10mm. As always, we are eager to hear from onshore marine biologists. (The image is taken with a 1:1 macro lens and further magnified 2x. You can see our siv under the crab.)
Finally, we see Rahiti Tane in a magnificent Pacific sunset.
Installations under water
(2015-11-23) The three-stage sampler from NIVA is a big water pump which uses massive amounts of energy (raft scale). It floats on the side of the raft while it pumps exactly 15.000 litres of water through three filters of varying sizes. We preserve these filters so that onshore researchers later can detect plastics. The sampler was launched today, as was Jostein, our under-water photographer. In these pictures you can see the sampler with the floater box on top. The floater box is carefully calibrated to keep the sampler floating in water. The blue rope is an electrical cable which transmits power as well as control signals; power is cut off after extactly 15.000 litres.
In the last picture, you can see our raft from underneath, including the Kongsberg EK80 echo sounders, guara boards, and a fish!
Tracking our rafts
(2015-11-23) Our home page has a little map on the left side, showing the progress of the Kon-Tiki2 rafts. If you zoom in, you can see marked positions where the rafts have sent tracking signals. Each raft has one Iridium GO unit (seen in picture 1, 2, and barely in 3) which continously tracks our positions with the built-in GPS receiver. Every 30 minutes, an email with the current position is automatically sent to our web server. There, a small script gently massages the reported positions add them to a small Google Map on our home page (If you want to play with our data set, you can find our reported positions here)
Also, the Iridium GO unit sets up a small wifi network on each raft. Through this network, the crew can send and receive email. In picture 4, the Samsung Galaxy J2 – which comes with Opera Max – is used to connect from outside the cabin. In picture 5, you can see the small outside antenna of the Iridium GO. The Irididium satellites are 780 kilometres above us, and the bandwidth is limited (2.4kbs). However, small text-based messages get through and this is a much-appreciated communication channel with the outside world. Feel free to send us email and stop for a moment to think about the wonderful journey your bits will take!
Animals around us
(2015-11-23) We owe thanks to readers who have helped us identify species seen from the Kon-Tiki2 rafts. In the whale movie posted, Megaptera novaeangliae was suggested. Someone else called it a Rorqual. Others, again, said humpback. These are all names for the same whale: Humpback = Megaptera novaeangliae = one of the larger rorqual species. In the second whale sighting, several identified it as a pilot whale.
When we asked what bird it was, the answer quickly came back: a Peruvian booby. It came back today, shown in the first picture.
We now need help with another puzzling bird, shown in picture 2, 3, and 4. It flies like a swallow, with quick turns close to the water. But it doesn't seem to fish. And in close-ups, like above, it looks more rounded than a swallow. What could it be? And what is it doing out here, 700 nautical miles from shore?
As an extra bonus, we add a picture of our security line, which has become a cozy home for some.
Epic drone footage from Kon-Tiki2
(2015-11-22) From above, the two Kon-Tiki2 rafts look spectacular set against the magnificant Pacific ocean. Taking off from the front deck is a challenge, and landing it amongst ropes, sails and sailors even more so. But we managed, this time.
(2014-11-22) Signe and Gunvor write: We receive quite a few questions about what we eat
onboard the rafts. We went shopping about a week before departure and
bought what then seemed like a ridiculous amount of food. After
repacking and stowing it, however, it seemed to have shrunk. How much
do 14 sailors eat during what may become 135 days? How much fish will
we catch, and how many oranges, onions, carrots and other fruit and
vegetables could we bring without them going bad? In addition to fresh
foods we bought what we could find of tinned food, dried food, and
quite a lot of rice, beans and lentils. We brought a variety of spices
to be able to season things differently from day to day.
Every day starts off with oatmeal for breakfast, accompanied by
fresh orange juice and a cup of coffee. We left Peru with 50 kg of
oranges and now we're down to the last 10 kg – and dreading the
day we'll run out. Lunch is usually rice with leftovers (if the night
watch hasn't already eaten them), bread made from porridge and flour,
or a fish if we're lucky enough to have caught one. The highlight of
the day, however, is dinner. Following is a list of what we have had
this past week:
Sunday: green lentils with rice in peanutsauce followed by pancakes and fried bananas
Monday: quinoa with red pesto and mango salsa
Tuesday: falafel with pan fried bread and orange salad
Wednesday: pacific onion soup topped with cheese
Thursday: lentil burgers with mustard sauce and rice
Friday: fried dorado and rice with beans and dried mushrooms, accompanied by ceviche
Saturday: bean lasagne, tinned peaches and chocolate for dessert
We're quickly running out of fresh vegetables – we'll need to become more creative
next week. So boys on Tupac, what did you have?
Today
(2015-11-21) Cecilie Mauritzen writes: Today turned out to be the nicest day so
far. In the afternoon the sun came out in full glory, shining over our
newly cleaned raft (Saturday is cleaning day on Rahiti Tane). Even the
bodies were cleaned – with more than 21 degrees in the water, and the
sunshine, we definitely got tropical Pacific feel. Even if we go back
to the normal, gray, cold weather tomorrow, the memories of glorious
Saturday November 21st will stay with us long :)
Spaghetti, anyone?
(2015-11-21) One of the items we worked hard to import to Peru was 4000 metres of 3mm Kevlar rope. The rope is used to lower and raise scientific instruments and cameras in the ocean. 4000 metres is enough the reach the deep ocean floor below us. However, we have a problem. The rope was delivered on bobbins partially made from cardboard. When stored underneath deck (which is a wet zone on a balsa raft) the cardboard has disintegrated and the rope has come off the bobbins. Getting the rope onto the SIMA-made steel bobbin will be an massive job. In the pictures, sailors Ola and David have started the work, shuffling a bag of unraveled rope between them.
Crew profile: Ola Borgfjord
(2015-11-21) Ola Borgfjord is the master sailor on board Tupac Yupanqui. He is the one who is awakened in the middle of the night when other sailors need help. Ola was also instrumental in designing the rafts, and testing scale models at NTNU. In this podcast Ola does not disclose all his secrets, but he offers you a rebate next time your order a viking ship and a balsa raft from Båskott Trebåtbyggeri (FB)!
Giant dorados secure supplies
(2015-11-21) Master fisherman David Short has done it again: a huge dorado was caught this morning, securing fat and proteins for the crew for days. Along with fellow morning watchman Jostein, the fish was tied with a rope before being lifted and photographed. The back deck is slippy due to waves breaking and the dorado, for sure, wanted to escape the pots and pans of Tupac Yupanqui. David's phone number will be disclosed when we get closer to shore – right now we're as far away from a cellphone network as anyone can get.
Rahiti Tane also reports a huge catch: master fisherman Esteban caught a 6 kg dorado, described as a blinking metallic wonderfish over VHF. Pictures will be posted in due course.
Life on a raft
(2015-11-20) After 12 days the raft teams of Kon-Tiki2 have settled into the a way of living. On Tupac Yupanqui, the youngest crew member Jostein Heidenstrøm (19) has done what many Norwegian boys did in the era of sailships – he went from school to work as a sailor. But Jostein didn't just join a sailing shim, he joind a raft! He writes:
The adventure has finally started! These first weeks have been amazing. I've been tired from time to time because of seasickness and waking up at 4AM every night, but it has all been a experience. I have learned and seen lots of new stuff already! The first days at sea were very hectic, but now all the tasks are more routine and things run smoothly. I like the raft life and I am looking forward to spend the next weeks on this raft and to celebrate Christmas on Easter Island. To sail a raft and live on e a raft is fantastic!
(Editor's note: As can be seen in the pictures above, Jostein takes on many roles onboard: raft clown, swimmer, master fisherman, budding scientist, and photographer. As we get hungrier, we especially like him as fisherman :)
Whalesurfing
(2015-11-20) Whale sightings occur almost daily on the Kon-Tiki2 rafts. (In comparison, we have not seen any sharks.) In these pictures, you can see the whale with the Rahiti Tane raft in the background. Due to our raft being low in water, we the whale is almost coming right at us. Again, we ask for help from marine biologists: What kind of whale is it?
Drifters released
(2015-11-20) Two UFO-like creatures were released by the Kon-Tiki Expedition at midnight, local time. The creatures have been kept in captivity on the front deck since our departure from Lima. Last night, Cecilie Mauritzen, Kon-Tiki2's chief scientist, gave orders to release them into the ocean. Once there, they join a herd of ocean drifters that report currents, temperature, and athmospheric pressure. Part of the Global Drifter Program (GDP), the Kon-Tiki Expedition will release 20 of these drifters in waters where few vessels travel. Last night, the sea was rough with winds at 25 knots. Notice how the person releasing the drifter is tied to the raft to not follow along with the drifter.
Welcome to the front deck
(2015-11-20) The front deck of the Tupac Yupanqui is alluring, especially in those rare moments when the sun comes out. We invite you to join the photographer, take stroll on our front deck!
Kontikikari's voice
(2015-11-19) Kari Skår Dahl is the captain of the Rahiti Tane raft. In this authetic VHF conversation, she discloses secrets from her raft (backbreaking exercises in the morning), from her work (food is a favorite topic among professionan rescuers), and a nearby Russian doctor. In the pictures, Captain Kari can be seen with her usual smile, and your starstruck correspondent. The two last pictures are take before leaving Callao. If you read Norwegian, you should also visit Kontikikari's blog.
Today's menu
(2015-11-19) Hungry sailors were offered a filling lunch on Tupac Yupaqui today. Yesterday's catch was turned into a delicious meal by our master chef Torgeir. He also found use for some of the vegetables we have, but do not know the names of. David, the fisherman, was happy to see his dorado cooked up, and asked for his phone number to be published. Unfortunately, we're well outside any cellphone network and any interested parties must wait until we reach shore. We hope that will be on Easter Island, but winds must change for us to get there. Could someone turn on the easternly, please?
In other news, the sun grazed us and our solar panels this morning. A bird was spotted from the front deck. We know the name in Norwegian (havsule), but couldn't think of the English term. Do let us know.
Our rafts
(2015-11-19) The Kon-Tiki2 Expedition sails two rafts, from South America to Easter Island. Roundtrip. The rafts are Rahiti Tane and Tupac Yupanqui. Some of these pictures are photographed from a dinghy; each raft carries a small dinghy with an outboard motor. Travelling from one raft to the other can be dangerous. You do not want to left in the Pacific on a dinghy with a broken engine. Nor do you want ot be crushed by a balsa log as the dinghy approaches the raft. But the dinghy allows for wonderful photos to be taken. We wish we had a bluer sky to offer, but the eather has been overcast most of the time since we left Callao. We hope this will change as we further away from the mainland and the Humbholdt current.
Catch of the day
(2015-11-18) The Tupac Yupanqui crew cheered on master fisherman David Short as he reeled in a fine dorado from the Tupac Yupanqui deck today. At risk were significant supplies of fat and protein and David did not dissappoint us. David's fishing skills were further enhanced by premimum fishing gear from Penn and Abu.
A rare visit to Rahiti Tane
(2015-11-18) Today, your correspondent had a rare opportunity to visit Rahiti Tane, the raft with a female captain and mixed crew. I am happy to report that Captain Kari's raft is well-organized, well-fed, and, well, perhaps, slightly better-smelling than the Tupac Yupanqui raft. In the second picture, Kari pulls the sail while Signe keeps an eye on the rigging. In the third picture, Cecilie and the raft mascot waves to onshore followers. Notice how the eggs hang securely from the ceiling. The fourth picture shows the drying rack, radiating neatness. Thereafter sailors Signe and Gunvor discusses sailing strategies with Ola, while the men of Rahiti meet.
Local resident greets Kon-Tiki2
(2015-11-16) The Kon-Tiki2 expedition was greeted by one of the local residents of the South Pacific today. As can be seen in the video, a whale stopped by to take a deep breath alongside Tupac Yupanqui. Any marine biologsts out there who can help determine what kind of whale we met? Send us an email!
Workout session on Tupac Yupanqui
(2015-11-16) On the testosterone-laden Tupac Yupanqui raft, front-deck workout sessions bring out formidable muscle power. Hardened by raising sails and lowering guara boards on night watches, these men risk their lives inches above shark-infested waters. Notice how the rigging is reflected in Torgeir's sunglasses, how Jostein desperatly brings himself up on the 10th (and final) lapse, and how Håkon disguises his deep fears 4000 meters above the ocean floor.
NIVA's three-stage sampler deployed
(2015-11-15) The Kon-Tiki2 Expedition today deployed an advanced three-stage sampler in the South Pacific. The sampler, developed and sposored by NIVA, the Norwegian Water Research Institute, pumped 15,000 litres of South Pacific water through three filtes at a rate of 5 litres per second. The goal of the operation is to detect plastic fragments of varying sizes. The pump drew significant amounts of power from the solar-based power bank. The crew, however, were happy to sacrifice electrons in the name of science – electrons what would otherwise be wasted in onboard personal entertainment systems. The sampler is heavy and must be handled by 2-3 people. Conditions at sea were dynamic, with winds around 14 knots. The sail was lowered during deployment. More pictures
Onshore programmer charts Kon-Tiki2 voyage
(2015-11-15) Onshore progammer Ian Short has created a new map to chart voyage of the Kon-Tiki2 rafts. The new map charts our progress through the Pacific, and indiates speed, distance traveled, distance left, and even our estimated time of arrival (ETA) on Easter Island. The map is based on coordinates uploaded every 30 minutes by the Iridium GO units (seen in picture 2) that both rafts carry. The coordinates are available to anyone who would like make maps from here. The old map indicates each observation as discrete points (picture 3). For now, both are available. We also have an old-fashioned magnetic compass onbord, and this is the instrument we most rely on when sailing into the sunset.
(We can also reveal that Ian Short is David's father. At yesterday's breakfast, the crew put bets on when the raft would reach Easter Island. David's bet was on December 19, which is the same as Ian's map indicated when first published today. A coincidence? We don't think so :-)
Flying fish on deck
(2015-11-14) The first flying fish landed on the deck of Tupac Yupanqui this morning. It was quickly turned into bait, and Torgeir went fishing. Nothing. But we have five weeks or so left on this raft and will not give up.
In other news, Jostein removed a layer of salt from the solar panels, and Andrey and Daved held a concert to mark that we have been at sea for a week.
We are 300 nautical miles from the Peruvian coast. We have 1750 nautical miles left to Easter Island (as the crow flies). Exercise for readers: when will we get here?
Trawling for plastics
(2015-11-13) The Manta Trawl is an ingenious device for collecting plastic fragments in the ocean. Our raft pulls the trawl for one hour and thereafter analyze and collect the samples. Today, Jostein and Håkon found two plastic fragments (we think) and some hapless creatures. The samples are photographed, and the position and conditions of trawling is recorded. The plastics fragments are stored for onshore analysis. Some of the crew are eager ot take part in scientific research, others are more interested in the sailing part of the expedition: how to best sail a raft towards Easter Island. If this were a reality-show, no doubt the producers would have found conflicts between the two groups. On Tupac Yupanqui, however, only bliss is found. Except for the hapless creatures.
Kon-Tiki2 exposé: how they catch fish
(2015-11-13) A series of pictures from the Rahiti Tane raft reveals how fish is caught by the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition: local fishermen provide supplies. Camila II was generous to share from their catch, and the crew threw all remaining Peruvian currency in return. An ethical exchange of proteins and currency therefore took place. However, as the rafts venture further from the Peruvian coasts, fishing boats will disappear. Will the crew be able to provide for themselves? They have the best equipment, and they have been trained by Dr Hook himself. We'll follow this issue closesly in the time to come.
[The crew on Tupac Yupanqui, the other raft of the expedition, insists that there have been no contact with fishmongers, and that they have, in fact, caught one dorado themselves. Really.]
Pacific raft cuisine
(2015-11-12) We have generous supplies of food on our rafts. Some of it is meant for our return journey from Easter Island, and is stowed away. Other items are readily available for aspiring Pacific chefs. In the first picture, you see our home-made bread, based on a special bread mix with salt water from Baker Hansen in Oslo. Cecilie has even mixed in some mango, to the delight of Kari and Pål. In the second picture, the crew of Rahiti Tane hosts a dinner on the front deck, underneath a partially lowered sail. Signe, the vegetarian chef, served a fantastic meal with mango, onion and rice. Jostein (left) is eating, as is Pål and Cecilie. The fact that David, our British sailor who has taught himself sailor-Norwegian, pulls out a garbage bag is purely coincidental. The other pictures are from today's lunch on Tupac Yupanqui where chef Torgeir served a fantastic two-course meal based on one fish, a dorado caught by Jostein this morning. We still have fresh vegetables and fruits.
Jotron help secure our rafts
(2015-11-12) Safety is a concern when you set out on balsa rafts across the Pacific. The Kon-Tiki2 Expedition carry advanced safety equipment from Jotron. Jotron is a trusted name in maritime electronics, providing safety equipment for ships, oil rigs – and even balsa rafts! They happen to be based in Larvik, Thor Heyerdahl's home town, and they proudly sponsor our expedition. On board both raft have AIS SARTs (which tell others where we are in emergency), floating VHF radios, and strobe lights for the full crew. This equipment is so important to us that we delayed departure from Callao when the shipment was delayes. In the pictures, Captain Øyvin Lauten and Expedition Leader Torgeir Higraff can be seen with the orange Jotron devices.
Soaring above and looking below our rafts
(2015-11-12) The Kon-Tiki2 expedition brings more electronic devices than any raft has ever carried before. When our resident drone took off from the front deck of Tupac Yupanqui, it was a first. Taking off between sails, ropes and sailors is a challenge — landing it even more so. Our bandwidth does not permit up to publish HD movies, but even stills look gorgeous from that angle.
Below water, Rahiti Tane has a ferrybox which measures temperature, oxygen levels, pH values, and various other parameters scientists are looking for. One part of the ferrybox is the CTD, which measures conductivty (i.e. salinity), temperature, and depth. The pictures show how the CTD hangs under the raft, which moves slowly through water. NIVA, the Norwegian Water Research Institute is providing us with equipment and support — both technical and emotional. In a year of El Nino, collecting accurate data in the South Pacific is especially worthwhile. The swimmer with camera is Jostein Heidenstrøm
