MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Hi-tech raft to recreate Kon-Tiki 1947 expedition

An international team set off Friday from Peru on a raft in a modern recreation of the epic 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition led by Thor Heyerdahl. The crew of six, which includes Heyerdahl's 28-year-old grandson, Olav, used traditional techniques to build a raft, named Tangaroa, (name of Polynesian sea god), out of balsa wood.

The group intends to sail it across the Pacific to the South Sea islands and like its predecessor 59 years ago, it is a replica of vessels used by indigenous peoples before Europe colonized the Americas.

However the 17metres raft has some additions that would not have been familiar to prehistoric Peruvians. "Solar panels will give us 600 watts . . . enough for the cameras and heating water," the team leader, Torgeir Saeverud Higraff, said. They will also power satellite communications, GPS and an internet connection, so the team of four Norwegians, a Swede and a Peruvian naval officer can have a weblog.

When Heyerdahl skippered Kon-Tiki 8,000 kilometres from Peru to Polynesia it was an attempt to prove his theory that South American civilizations settled the South Sea islands. With a radio the only nod to modernity, the crew of six men and a parrot sailed for 101 days before arriving on a reef near the Tuamotu Islands in the South Pacific.

The expedition formed the basis of a bestselling book and a 1951 Oscar-winning film. Members of that expedition found large areas of apparently deserted ocean polluted with oil and effluent. The Tangaroa website explains that this team is working with the University of Bergen in Norway and will take water samples to assess how things have changed.

The sails are bigger than in 1947, as we know more about prehistoric Peruvians now. The raft is the same: balsa logs, a bamboo deck and a hardwood cabin. Steering, which was a huge problem on the original expedition, has also been refined to use techniques closer to those used by ancient South American seafarers.

Heyerdahl's theory is now known to be false. Genetics proves that, while it may have been possible for South Americans to colonize Polynesia, they never did.

"Our objective is to cover the distance in less time. We want to prove the navigation system of the ancient Peruvian cultures and search for signals of ecological damage, plus follow on the steps of Thor Heyerdhal", said Torgeir Higraff head of the expedition.