Re: Kaimanawa Wall once again...

From: pwilson (pwilson78_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 09/03/04 

Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2004 21:46:59 -0400

In article <1gjh8uc.rqtsjm1ggd7psN%applepaintedmyth@xtra.co.nz>,
applepaintedmyth@xtra.co.nz says...
>
>Yuri Kuchinsky <yuku@trends.ca> wrote:
>
>> > For instance, I
>> > didn't know that Heyerdahl's raft had to be towed 50 miles through and
>> > beyond the currents otherwise it couldn't have achieved its journey.
>> > Yeehaaaaah.
>
>> This is supposed to mean something?
>> Heyerdahl's skills as a sailor are not being rated. He,
>> himself, admitted that he knew nothing about how to sail
>> those rafts when he started out. So what?
>
>Yes, it means a hell of a lot. It means the raft could never have
>covered even the first fraction of the journey without being towed.
>[...] You knew precisely what I meant -- the raft
>couldn't achieve its journey without a tow. But what do you do, you come
>back with someting totally irrelevant about Heyerdahl's skills.

Heyerdahl's skills as a sailor are definitely a crucial part of this issue.
Kon-Tiki was Heyerdahl's first experience with a balsa raft. As he admits, at
the time of Kon-Tiki's sailing, he had not mastered the use of the guara
boards, which should have permitted tacking and sailing close to the wind.

However, in 1953 Heyerdahl, along with the archeologists Reed and Skjolsvold,
conducted experiments with a full-size balsa raft off the coast of Ecuador.
They found that when properly used, guara boards permitted virtually unlimited
maneuverability of the balsa raft.

The added circumstantial evidence suggesting the confirmation of open-water
sailing capabilities by balsa rafts without the need for a motorized tow is
the presence of pre-contact South American pottery in the Galapagos.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Kaimanawa Wall once again...
    ... >back with someting totally irrelevant about Heyerdahl's skills. ... Heyerdahl's skills as a sailor are definitely a crucial part of this issue. ... Kon-Tiki was Heyerdahl's first experience with a balsa raft. ... which should have permitted tacking and sailing close to the wind. ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Kaimanawa Wall once again...
    ... which should have permitted tacking and sailing close to the wind. ... >> maneuverability of the balsa raft. ... >happened yonks before, but it doesn't change the fact that Heyerdahl ...
    (sci.anthropology)
  • Re: Kaimanawa Wall once again...
    ... which should have permitted tacking and sailing close to the wind. ... >> maneuverability of the balsa raft. ... >happened yonks before, but it doesn't change the fact that Heyerdahl ...
    (sci.archaeology)