[KonTiki2 news from December 2015]

Dinghy gives perspective

(2015-12-01) Each raft carries a small dinghy, for safety and convenience. Yesterday, Tupac Yupanqui launced their's to check that it floats, and to take some photographs of the raft. 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 angled for photographing said: "The pictures are not so important. What's iportant is being in a rubber dinghy with 4000 metres of salt water right underneath".

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!

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"!

Small joys

By Gunvor and Signe

(2015-12-01) 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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Raft fashion week

(2015-12-03) While the Kon-Tiki2 crew fancy a tropic 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 in daytime.

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.

As a bonus picture, we show tonight's sunset in the South Pacific.

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.

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?

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 1800 meter long rope. More impressivly, 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 scientists who try work out how oceans cope with 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.

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)

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

How far from land can frigatebirds be found?

(2015-12-06) 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 several sources on the maximum distance from land these birds may be spotted; estimates vary between 75-150 miles. 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?

Sailing Rahiti

By Captain Kari Skår Dahl (som også blogger på norsk)

(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.

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.

Pacific cuisine on Rahiti Tane, week 4

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:

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!

The importance of deep-water measurements


Pictures from the deep-water cast

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.

Continue reading on the Science page...

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 our camera: 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, the macro images use a Sigma 1:2.8 DG Macro lens.

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!

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!

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.

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 special mix for use with salt water, and our highly experimental trials show that Pacific water can make great bread. Ola and David knead the dough an cradle the finished result. We've run out of butter, but still have some marmelade left. Yummy! For desert: a fantastic sunset.
(2015-11-)

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 is 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 these men — they are drifters which will be launched when we reach 101 degrees and 54 minutes west.

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.

Signe Siglar

(2015-12-09) Signe Meling is 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 navive Haugesund dialect), a good planner, and a great chef. In this authentic VHF conversation she discloses what percentage of the meals on Rahiti Tane she is preparing, and is confronted with rumors of sugar shortages on Tupac Yupanqui. 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.

In translation: kontiki2.ru

(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.

Lifelong dream fulfilled

(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.

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?

Read Cecilie's response in the Science page

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.

The inner life of Rahiti

(2015-12-11) A treasure-trove of images from the Rahiti raft were 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 Inca rowers, and we have modern shipping lanes to worry about.

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!)

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 sosial 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 forgivenesses for each other, more positive cooperation and a more constructive team dynamics — thanks to Diversity Icebreaker!

[The pictures show the facilitator, participants at work, and the Red button carried by two members of the crew]

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 this shocking interview, he reveals the number of fish actually caught. David is also an authority on knots, and he describes what we are using the 4000 meter long rope for. After five weeks on a raft with six other men, David seems quite ready to meet a woman. He does not reveal his phone number, but he suggests a time and place to meet. Really. Ladies should be warned, however: there is exactly one knot David is not ready to tie.

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 along on your next rafting adventure.

2046 meters!

(2015-12-14) In a record-breaking deep-water measurement, the Kon-Tiki2 Expedition has launched a CTD which reached 2046 meters (6712 ft) below the Tupac Yupanqui 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 safely 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!

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:

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!

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 (a banjo!). Andrey appreciates many means of transport, including buses in Callao and rubber dinghys in the Pacific. He likes looking over a sunny and blue ocean, 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!

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.]

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.

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 picture, Håkon is seen wearing the SeaWind model when launching a drifter. In the last three pictures, the SeaLion is worn by our senior crew members — it matches nicely the sail on our raft.

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 and a text-based internet connection, 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.

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

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.

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.

The meteorologists dream

By Cecilie Mauritzen, Meteorologist and Chief Scientist

(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 seen some of our favorites in these picures.

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.

Continue reading here...

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:

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 party, and how the two rafts are anchored by Hangaroa.]

Changing of guards



(2015-11-22) 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 heading home, and participants for the second leg arrive. A strike in Chile has 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. Also, 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 think Jacqueline's sister had something to do with it! The crew now spend their days touring the unique monuments of the Island, while preparing for the next big challenge: the return voyage!

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.

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.

Sperre camera goes under

/2015/12-31-sperre/G0069878 /2015/12-31-sperre/G0069878_1 /2015/12-31-sperre/G0069878_2 /2015/12-31-sperre/G0069878_3 /2015/12-31-sperre/liv2 1/120s f/2.4 ISO50 4.3mm /2015/12-31-sperre/liv1 1/127s f/2.4 ISO50 4.3mm
(2015-12-31) The Kon-Tiki2 Expedition brings a deepwater camera from Sperre. In a not-so-dry-run, the camera was lowered into the Pacific from the moored raft. In the first two pictures, you can see that the lights have been switched on at the surface, before being lowered into water.

In other news, Liv Arnesen arrives from Norway with a suitable hat, to a warm Polynesian welcome.