Who crossed the Pacific Ocean on a raft. Thor Heyerdahl - From "Kon-Tiki" to "Ra"

As a child, everyone probably dreamed of sailing the world’s oceans on a beautiful three-masted sailboat and discovering new lands or exploring those already on the map. But over the years, such transcendental dreams turn into simple memories. Does this happen for everyone? No. In 1947, when the echoes of the Second World War were still clearly heard in people's minds, there was one brave explorer named Thor Heyerdahl, who decided to follow the path of the Peruvian Indians to the Polynesian islands, thereby proving his personally developed theory about the true settlement of this land.

It is not surprising that the compatriots of the initiator of this expedition, Norwegian directors Joaquin Ronning and Espen Sandberg, took up the production of a feature film about the journey to the Kon-Tiki. A story based on documentary, filmed during the trip, and the book written by Thor Heyerdahl, still has many errors regarding the veracity of the facts presented. However, even gross mistakes, most likely made deliberately, do not spoil the overall viewing experience, because the directors perfectly felt all the main points and conveyed them to the screen with high quality. The episode of the small raft sailing from the shores of Peru looks very powerful and impressive. Therefore, such a non-dynamic scene, not filled with any serious actions, but still has great emotional significance. A perfectly composed soundtrack gives something significant to the entry into the seas and fills the viewer's soul with a feeling of unfeigned solemnity.

Further events do not contain boring moments throughout the entire running time, which is why the overall picture looks solid and does not get boring. It is worth recognizing that the most emotional episodes while moving along the ocean surface were invented by the authors themselves. There are many embellished events created to add drama to the action. A blown storm, with strong waves and an endless stream of rain, looks powerful. The chaos in the crew and the panicky zeal to remove the sail and secure everything on the deck looks great. The fear of water and salvation from the dark abyss of Thor Heyerdahl (Paul Sverre Walheim Hagen) are indeed filled with a certain despair and fear. But this cannot be praised for the actors, who barely felt their characters; Credit should only be given to the directors who, despite everything, managed to handle such a dynamic and emotional scene.

The most positive aspect of the entire Kon-Tiki film is the dynamism and interest in the course of events that do not disappear over the course of two hours. Every time something happens. At any moment the viewer's eye will be pleased with a bright image sea ​​world when glowing blue jellyfish swim near the raft. The episode of the encounter with a whale shark, calmly swimming under the stern of the raft, is not inferior in intensity of emotions. The fear of a team member and the harpoon being released into a huge fish adds the right amount of nervousness to a moment in the life of the team. The loss of a good friend, a parrot, and the fall of a human companion into a shark-infested abyss is truly fascinating and intriguing. Maybe this episode is devoid of a certain amount of logic and reason. It may be invented by the scriptwriters and oversaturated with drama, but in the hands of Joaquin Ronninag and Espen Sandberg, all this is presented with high quality, scary and exciting.

Kon-Tiki is a great example of how great importance the film has a talented director, in this case two directors. The picture cannot boast of an excellent cast that can transform the picture and bring it to a new level of quality. There is no reasonable approach from the screenwriters to adapting a real trip, everything is reduced to ridiculous distortions of facts. But the production of the entire film, the development of events and filling the story with a beautiful and soulful soundtrack rests entirely with the conscience of the directors. They perfectly showed the life of the sea and the crew of a raft and deservedly earned an Oscar nomination in 2013.

Kon-Tiki is a raft on which scientist tour Heyerdahl with a crew of 5 people sailed from Peru to Polynesia. The 101-day journey took place back in 1947. But the expedition is still considered extraordinary and surrounded by legends.

The purpose of the trip to the Kon-Tiki was to prove that the Indians South America could cross the Pacific Ocean and settle Polynesian islands. Thor Heyerdahl believed that the Incas made long swims on rafts made of wood. The Kon-Tiki sailed along the approximate “migration route” of the Indians.

However, the theory itself originated much earlier. -Norwegian archaeologist and ethnographer who conducted a lot of research around the world. So, 10 years before the expedition, the scientist and his wife ended up in the Marquesas archipelago.

One of the elders told the family about Kon-Tiki, the god of the local tribes. The story said that the deity helped the ancestors of the Polynesians leave the big country, cross the ocean and populate the local islands.

The legend amazed Thor Heyerdahl. The scientist continued his research and found confirmation of the myth. In the jungles of Polynesia, an ethnographer discovered giant statues Kon-Tiki. The sculptures were identical to Inca monuments in South America.

The idea of ​​traveling in the footsteps of the god Kon-Tiki originated in 1946, a year before departure. Heyerdahl began studying ancient manuscripts, drawings and archives. The work was a success: the researcher discovered a detailed image of the rafts of South American Indians.

Search for like-minded people

Thor Heyerdahl talked with hundreds of scientists, travelers and sailors. However, most of them thought the idea of ​​swimming on a raft was crazy. The researcher did not lose hope, and soon he had like-minded people. New acquaintances began to actively look for project sponsors. As a result, newspapers wrote about the Norwegian scientist and his plan.

Thor Heyerdahl conducted one negotiation after another. The US War Department was also among the sponsors of the project. Officials provided the expedition with dry rations and necessary equipment: sleeping bags, safety shoes, etc. Later, Thor Heyerdahl met with the President of Peru and received permission to build in the local port.

Raft construction and design

The Peruvian authorities provided Heyerdahl and his team with a port dock and several workers. Documented Incan technologies were used in the construction of the raft:

1. « Kon-Tiki“built from balsa, peeled from the bark. Balsa wood is considered the lightest and strongest in the world. Suitable specimens were delivered to the port from Ecuador.
2. The material was used raw. The moisture inside the wood acted as an impregnation and prevented seawater from being absorbed deeper. As a result, the raft stayed afloat for a long time.
3. Kon-Tiki was built without the use of nails. The basis of the raft consisted of 9 balsa logs 10–14 meters long. Trees of smaller diameter were laid on top of them, forming a deck. Balsa logs and other components were tied with ropes laid in cut grooves. This prevented the ropes from rubbing against the logs.
4. A mast and a steering oar with a wide blade were installed above the base. Both elements were made from mangrove wood, which does not sink.
5. The Kon-Tiki had a sharp nose due to the use of logs of varying lengths. This approach allowed us to increase the speed of movement.
6. The vessel was equipped with a sail with an area of ​​27 m2 and 2 rows of planks protruding from the bottom of the raft and acting as retractable keels. The mechanism prevented the Kon-Tiki from drifting sideways and made it easier to control.
7. For convenience, the deck was covered with mats made of young bamboo. And in the middle they placed a small bamboo hut with a roof made of banana leaves.

After completing construction, the team saw an exact replica of ancient South American rafts. They decided to give the ship the name of the god of the Polynesians and Incas, who inspired Thor Heyerdahl to sail. In this regard, the image of the god Kon-Tiki was painted on the sail.

Review of the raft by critics

Delegation after delegation arrived to look at the finished raft. Critics unanimously declared that the Kon-Tiki would not reach its goal and would collapse from the first major wave. Onlookers even bet on how soon the raft would sink. The expedition was called an “adventure” and “mass suicide.” But he didn’t cancel the swim.

Kon-Tiki crew

The leader of the expedition was Thor Heyerdahl himself. His team included 5 more people:

1. Eric Hesselberg is a navigator and artist who has completed several circumnavigation of the world;
2. Knut Haugland – radio operator, participant in World War II;
3. Thorstein Robue is the second radio operator to accomplish a military feat: for several months he transmitted denunciations to England from the German battleship Tirpitz;
4. Hermann Watzinger - engineer and technician who knew the basics of meteorology and hydrology;
5. Bengt Danielsson is the cook and the only member of the team who spoke Spanish.

Thor Heyerdahl deliberately did not take professional sailors into his team. The scientist did not want the success of the expedition to be explained by the experience of the crew. This would give reason to doubt the ability of the Peruvian Indians to repeat such a voyage.

The seventh unofficial member of the team and at the same time its mascot was the South African green parrot Lolita. The feathered comrade chatted incessantly in Spanish. Unfortunately, halfway through the journey the bird was washed overboard during a storm.

How was the expedition?

The Kon-Tiki sailed on April 28, 1947 from the port of Callao in Peru. The Guardian Rio towed the raft 50 miles, straight to the Humboldt Current. Then the team took control into their own hands. Every day the Kon-Tiki covered a distance of 80 km. On one fine day, the raft covered a record distance of 130 km.

The most favorable time of year with the South Equatorial Current and trade winds was chosen for the expedition. Therefore, during the journey, the Kon-Tiki survived only 2 storms, one of which lasted 5 days. As a result, the logs parted halfway, the stern oar was lost, and the sail and deck were severely damaged. When the storm ended, the crew managed to repair the damage.

On July 31, on the 93rd day of the journey, the team spotted the island of Puka Puka. However, it was not possible to land on it, as the raft was instantly carried away by the current. On the 97th day of the voyage, the Kon-Tiki approached the island of Angatau.

All day the crew searched for a passage through dangerous reefs. By evening, a village appeared on the other side of the island. However, even with the help of local islanders, the crew was unable to steer the Kon-Tiki against the wind into a safe passage.

On the 100th day of the voyage, the raft approached the Raroia Atoll in Polynesia. However, the area was also completely surrounded by reefs. The crew decided to make their way to land at high tide. For several hours the raft was buffeted by powerful waves. After this, the tide came in: the Kon-Tiki was able to get ashore and the crew landed.

On August 7, 1947, on the 101st day of the voyage, the expedition to the Kon-Tiki was completed. The crew dragged all the necessary things to the island and spent a week there until the local islanders sailed to them. And some time later, the team was picked up by a Norwegian ship sent by the authorities to rescue the expedition.

Encounters with sharks

The only difficulty during the swim was checking the knots regularly. To do this, crew members had to go underwater, where schools of sharks swam. Predators surrounded the Kon-Tiki because of the smell of blood from the fish caught for food.

To make the descent under water less dangerous, the team built a special basket. Having noticed a shark, the inspector hid in the structure and gave a sign to be pulled to the surface.

One day the raft was chased by a giant whale shark. As a result, one of the expedition members could not stand it and stuck a spear into her, forcing her to hide. Sharks often surrounded the Kon-Tiki and even tried to bite the scientists. Fortunately, everything worked out fine.

The meeting with my shark friend was special. The animal stuck to the raft for almost a week. Thor Heyerdahl personally fed the predator, throwing food directly into its mouth. However, one of the team members tried to catch the shark by the tail, and the “friend” swam away.

Provisions and drinking water

The Indians made do with dried sweet potatoes and dried meat along the way. But Heyerdahl decided not to risk it. A 3-month supply of food and drink was taken onto the raft: army dry rations, fruit and 1100 liters of water in small cans.

To protect against sea water, provisions were stored in cardboard boxes covered with asphalt (bitumen). The containers were placed on the main logs below the deck: the wood blocked the access of the sun's rays and ensured coolness.

Food was prepared on a primus stove, which was stored in a mangrove wood box. One day the device caused a fire on board. However, the crew reacted in time: trouble was avoided.

Most of the crew ate seafood. Flying fish often got on board, and plankton accumulated in a special net. Besides, fishing allowed me to catch a whole lunch in 20 minutes. The most commonly caught fish were dolphinfish, bonito, tuna and mackerel. A little later, researchers learned to grab small sharks by the tail and drag them onto the raft.

As an experiment, two members of the team ate exclusively army rations. At that time, such a diet was considered an innovation and was not tested. The rest of the crew also ate canned food, especially during a storm, when fishing was little possible.

There was enough at Kon-Tiki drinking water. But after just a few weeks of travel, it began to taste unpleasant. Therefore, the expedition members regularly replenished their supplies by collecting rainwater. An attempt was also made, like the Indians, to drink lymphatic fluid from the glands of fish. In addition, the team found that oat grains eliminate the unpleasant taste of seawater and make it drinkable.

To normalize water-salt metabolism in the body, the crew periodically added sea ​​water to drinking water. Thus, it was possible to replenish the lack of salt lost through sweat.

Life

On the first day, the team distributed responsibilities and scheduled watches. Important issues were resolved by expedition members at meetings. The approach provided a friendly atmosphere in a team of unfamiliar people. In addition, a rubber boat was tied to the raft.

You could stay in it if you wanted privacy. The boat was also used to film the raft for a future documentary.

Thor Heyerdahl wrote down his observations daily in a diary, took samples of fish and plankton, and made a film. Radio operators monitored the safety of portable and stationary radio stations in damp conditions and sent reports and weather information on air. The cook cooked and read: his personal library was kept in the cabin. The technician repaired breakdowns and took meteorological and hydrological measurements.

The artist patched the sail, and also made funny sketches of his comrades or sea ​​creatures.

Scientific achievements: what did Thor Heyerdahl prove?

Thanks to the trip to the Kon-Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl was able to:

Film and book

Thor Heyerdahl wrote the book “The Voyage of Kon-Tiki”. The work became a bestseller and was translated into 67 languages. A total of 50 million copies were published.

The trip to the Kon-Tiki became a worldwide sensation. A team of 6 people covered 6,980 km on a wooden raft, proving that man can control the elements. The Kon-Tiki itself is kept in one of the museums in Oslo, the homeland of Thor Heyerdahl. Scientists say the raft is still able to withstand a long swim. Dear Friends, share this story with your friends on in social networks- buttons below. We are sure that many people do not know about it, but when they find out, they will be surprised by such an event in history that causes admiration. Subscribe to site updates. There are many more interesting things ahead of you

In 1948, the famous Norwegian ethnographer published his book "Journey to the Kon-Tiki". (Download the book) It describes an expedition during which the author of the book, together with five companions, sailed across the Pacific Ocean from the shores of South America to the islands of Polynesia on a wooden raft.

The raft was named in honor of the high priest and sun-king of a little-known people who, in ancient times, lived on the territory of Peru and were expelled by the Incas. According to Thor Heyerdahl's hypothesis, these people, having crossed the ocean on rafts made of balsa wood, populated the islands of Polynesia.

Travel on the Kon-Tiki had the task of proving the possibility of crossing the Pacific Ocean on rafts made of balsa wood and settling the inhabitants of South America on the islands of Polynesia.

But the expedition is interesting not only from the point of view of proving the hypothesis, but also from the point of view of the possibility of survival at sea in extreme conditions.

Despite the well-known adventurism of this enterprise, it is an example of careful and deliberate preparation, accurate calculation, brilliant execution and successful completion of the project.

So, having previously visited the Marquesas (the year-long expedition is described in the book “In Search of Paradise”) and other islands of Polynesia, Thor Heyerdahl drew attention to some similarities in the cultures of the ancient peoples of South America and the Polynesians. This made it possible to assume that the ancestors of the Polynesians could have been residents of South America who crossed the ocean on balsa rafts and settled the islands about one and a half thousand years ago.

Official science adheres to the theory of the Asian origin of the islanders South Seas and Thor Heyerdahl's hypothesis was rejected, primarily due to the impossibility of crossing the Pacific Ocean on a raft.

The task was complicated by the fact that little was known about the proposed navigation area, since it was located away from normal sea routes. Also, little was known about the possibility of sailing on a wooden raft in the open ocean.

Thor Heyerdahl began preparing for the voyage. First of all, he enlisted the support of the Travelers Club in New York, of which he was a member after the expedition to the Marquesas Islands.

Thanks to the support of club members, he had the opportunity to test equipment developed by the US Air Force Materiel Laboratory for testing in extreme conditions. And thanks to the support of the people who fought with him during World War II, Thor Heyerdahl was able to test in the same extreme conditions the equipment developed by the Experimental Laboratory of the Pentagon's General Quartermaster Directorate.

He was provided with everything - from field daily rations and matches to primus stoves and sleeping bags, from clothes to life-saving equipment providing rescue at sea.

Committee geographical research The US War Department provided the expedition with equipment and tools for scientific research. The US Navy Hydrographic Institute provided newest maps Pacific Ocean, and the British military mission in Washington supplied the expedition with a set of British equipment.

There were people who agreed to provide financial assistance to the expedition. And representatives of Peru and Ecuador at the UN promised assistance and support in the territories of their states.

Thus, Thor Heyerdahl and his assistants did their best to prepare for the voyage. It seemed impossible to do more. This preparation largely determined the success of the expedition.

After the trip to the Kon-Tiki, similar voyages were made by other people, but due to inadequate preparation and other reasons, not all of them ended successfully. An example is the voyage of Eric de Bishop from Tahiti to the coast of South America and back, described by Kon-Tiki crew member Bengt Danielsson in the book “The Great Risk Voyage on the Tahiti Nui.”

Simultaneously with the material preparation, Thor Heyerdahl recruited a team from among his friends and simply like-minded people. It was supposed to consist of six people. At the time of departure to South America, five people were recruited. Among them: Hermann Watzinger - the engineer responsible for the scientific work of the expedition, Eric Hesselberg - a former sailor and artist who took over the navigation support of the expedition. Knut Haugland and Thorstein Robue were in charge of radio communications.

Kon-Tiki crew

So, Thor Heyerdahl and Hermann Watzinger went to Ecuador, where they planned to buy balsa logs to build a raft. But upon arrival at the place, it turned out that the balsa trees on the coast had been cut down, and logs of the required size could only be found in the depths of the jungle. But due to the onset of the rainy season, it is impossible to get from the coast to the balsa plantations in Quivedo. The only way out is to fly to the capital of Ecuador, Quito, and then return through the Andes and from their slopes down into the jungle to Quivedo.

And so it was done. From Quito, in an army jeep, Thor Heyerdahl and Hermann Watzinger crossed the Andes and reached Quivedo along roads muddy from tropical rains. From Quivedo, on a raft made of felled balsa trees, accompanied by Indians, they descended along the Palenque River to the port of Guayaquil. The logs were then transported to the Peruvian port of Callao.

In Callao, after contacting the authorities, the expedition received permission to build a raft and be based on the territory of a military port. At this time, the remaining members of the expedition arrive, and the only Swede among the Norwegian team also joins. He had just completed an ethnographic expedition in the Amazon, after which he crossed the Andes and ended up in Peru.

The author of the book “The Voyage to the Kon-Tiki” notes that the expedition members did not know each other and the journey, at least at first, would not be overshadowed by a clash of characters until the team members got to know each other. It should be noted that, thanks to the successful selection of the team, the journey was not overshadowed by a clash of characters throughout the expedition.

Construction and equipment of the Kon-Tiki raft.

With the help of several local residents The team began building the raft with all care.

The logs were fastened with ropes laid in cut grooves. This prevented the logs from rubbing them together. Transverse beams were laid on the logs of the raft, which additionally secured the raft. A bamboo deck was laid on the ronjins. For convenience, it was covered with mats made from young bamboo stems.

The bow of the raft, thanks to logs of different lengths, had a wedge shape. Several logs protruded from the stern. A steering oar was installed on them. It was made of strong wood with a wide plank blade.

The mast of the raft, for strength, was made up of two logs of strong wood inclined towards each other and fastened at the tops.

Wide boards about one and a half meters long were inserted into the cracks between the logs of the raft, which were supposed to serve as retractable keels. The keels prevent lateral drift of the raft and improve its controllability. This was very helpful during the sailing period and the raft could move at an angle of up to 20 degrees to the wind.

Raft "Kon-Tiki"

At settlement period After sailing for about three months, food supplies were taken for four months. It was based on army daily rations.

Particular attention was paid to the safety of food and water. Cardboard boxes with rations were securely covered with asphalt and placed below deck, on the logs of the raft, between the rongines. Asphalt protected rations from spoilage sea ​​water, which in a short time causes corrosion of cans and spoilage of food.

A supply of drinking water amounting to 1100 liters, poured into small cans, was also placed there. The cargo was carefully secured, and being below deck guaranteed relative coolness and protection from direct sunlight.

The expedition's diet was supposed to be diversified with caught fish, as well as plankton, for which a plankton net was taken to catch. Fruits were taken in quantities that the size of the raft allowed. Taken measures helped prevent the loss of food and water during the voyage on the Kon-Tiki.

The raft was equipped with two shortwave radios, one fixed and one portable. They were intended to transmit meteorological information and, if necessary, to transmit distress signals for rescue at sea.

Norwegian's Journey Thor Heyerdahl on a raft across the Pacific Ocean is now considered a significant event in the exploration of the planet and human history. However, at one time the journey not only brought many discoveries and forced official science reconsider its view on a number of things, it, in fact, became the first reality show that the whole world watched for 101 days. And after the publication of books, documentaries and feature films about this expedition, it can rightfully be considered a real cultural phenomenon.

Thor Heyerdahl, circa 1980. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

“Remember, you will all drown!”

It all started when Thor Heyerdahl put forward a bold hypothesis. In his opinion, the islands of Polynesia were inhabited by people from America, and not from Asia, as science then believed. Science community made my Norwegian colleague laugh. No one took his treatises and evidence seriously. And especially ardent skeptics decided to take Heyerdahl weakly. Like, if you are so smart, build a raft and try to repeat the route that the same ancient Incas supposedly easily took. Right here world show and it started. When it became clear that the scientist had accepted the challenge and was preparing in full swing for an adventurous journey, these same skeptics, along with the rest of the scientific world and journalists, tried to dissuade him from this venture. “It would be suicide! Come to your senses, you will all drown!” - they repeated to the scientist. But he has already “bitten the bit.”

Lolita was washed overboard

Preparations for the expedition were complicated by the fact that Heyerdahl initially could not find sponsors and recruit a team of 5 people. Viral marketing helped. Newspapers began to write about the scientist’s idea, and sponsors were found. Together with the desperate scientist, 5 more people went on the expedition: navigator and artist Erik Hesselberg, cook Bengt Danielsson, two radio operators (Knut Haugland And Thorstein Robue), and technician, engineer and meteorologist Hermann Watzinger. The seventh member of the expedition was a South African parrot named Lolita. Lolita, however, was washed away during one of the storms. As soon as the raft of balsa logs was built (by the way, authentically, without a single nail), the travelers set off.

The Kon-Tiki crew. From left to right: Knut Haugland, Bengt Danielsson, Thor Heyrdal, Erik Hesselberg, Thorstein Robue and Hermann Watzinger. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

The show begins!

In addition to scientific observations and experiments, the team broadcast their adventure virtually live. Radio operators almost every day transmitted reports of weather observations, ocean currents, and so on to the shore. In addition, one of the radio operators kept a detailed travel diary. Every little detail was recorded. One day, tired of writing, the first radio operator exclaimed in despair: “I would swear that all this correspondence weighs ten kilograms!” The second radio operator only calmly corrected him: “Twelve. I weighed it." And in order not to miss anything at all and to get the most out of their trip, the team members recorded everything with a movie camera. A book based on the recordings and a film based on the documentary footage were supposed to be the culmination of this show. For now, the whole world was content with radiograms from Kon-Tiki. “Have they drowned yet?” - some asked with burning eyes. "Not yet!" - others answered joyfully. People in the most different countries they placed bets, made bets, eagerly awaiting the outcome.

Didn't you wait?! And we have arrived!

On August 7, 1947, having covered several thousand kilometers, the raft approached the Raroia Atoll, part of the Tuamotu archipelago. But no one was waiting for travelers there. No one at all: the island turned out to be uninhabited. For a week the team trampled on this piece of land until a boat with local residents accidentally sailed up to it.

When the travelers reached mainland to civilization, it became a world sensation. And the beginning of triumph. Heyerdahl's book "The Kon-Tiki Expedition" has been translated into 70 languages ​​and has sold more than 50 million copies. The documentary film Kon-Tiki, edited by the traveler, was awarded an Oscar in 1952.

Subsequently, a feature film about legendary journey, which has also received numerous nominations and awards. And Thor Heyerdahl gained not only recognition scientific world. He became a real world star. He made many more trips and wrote 20 books. Of course, he gained a lot of followers among his fans. Alas, not everyone managed to complete their expeditions as safely as Heyerdahl. Some repeated the fate of Lolita the parrot.

One riddle prompted him to come up with the idea of ​​such a journey. Once upon a time, a leader ancient tribe Incas Kon-Tiki was defeated in the war and retreated with his warriors to ocean shore. And now there was nowhere to retreat further. Then Kon-Tiki and his companions built rafts, sailed into the ocean and never returned. And no one saw them again. Where did they disappear to?
Heyerdahl believed that Kon-Tiki sailed and sailed west on rafts, and eventually landed on Easter Island, and his warriors settled from there on all the other islands. But how to prove this? Only by repeating this whole thing yourself sea ​​route.
Heyerdahl gathered a team, built a raft and set off on a journey to exactly repeat the path of the Inca leader.

After I read Heyerdahl’s book “The Voyage of the Kon-Tiki” (I couldn’t stop! I didn’t even think that it would be so interesting to read!), I really wanted to tell Osya about this journey. And we began to play with him, imagining what we ourselves have to do dangerous journey across the ocean. I wanted to talk to Osya about Heyerdahl’s journey, but I didn’t want to give out a lot of information in bulk. Therefore, we first discussed how Osya imagined such a journey, and then I told some interesting details about the adventures of Heyerdahl and his companions.

What will we build the raft from?
Thor Heyerdahl set sail on a raft made of balsa wood - this is the lightest wood in the world! It was not so easy to find a place where these trees still grow. They had to climb far into the mountains and from there float logs down the river.

So, the raft was ready, and there was not a single nail in it! Above nine mighty balsa logs, tied with ropes, rose a mast with a giant (27 square meters) rectangular sail. The deck was covered with bamboo. In the middle of the raft stood a small but fairly strong hut with a roof made of banana leaves.

raft layout

Raft in a museum in Oslo

Still from the movie "Kon-Tiki"

Crew members had to check the condition of the ropes underwater from time to time. It was very dangerous because you could get into the shark's mouth.

What will we eat?
(We need to learn how to fish)
“On the way, we had to find out whether it was possible to fish in the open sea and collect rainwater. I believed that we should have taken with us the front-line rations that we were given during the war.”

Heyerdahl knew that the Aborigines once easily got by on dried sweet potatoes and dried meat during voyages. But if the food supply suddenly spoiled, six people could simply die of hunger. Therefore, they took with them many boxes of canned food, covered with a thin layer of asphalt on top to prevent moisture from getting inside. Their supply should have been enough for four months. In addition, on the raft there were supplies of fruits, coconuts, and a lot of fishing gear: they hoped that they would be able to catch fish, and everything worked out! Moreover, often they didn’t even have to catch anything; the fish itself jumped onto their raft. Every morning, Heyerdahl and his companions found dozens of flying fish on the deck, which were immediately sent to the frying pan (there was a small primus stove on the raft, which was located in a wooden box).

Once the cook dozed off and did not notice how the bamboo wall of the hut caught fire, but, fortunately, everything worked out and it was quickly put out.
The ocean was teeming with tuna, mackerel and bonito fish and often it was enough just to throw a hook into the water. Having adapted to sea fishing, the friends even began to catch sharks, sometimes dragging them onto a raft simply by grabbing their rough tail.

It also happened that they had to keep up to 9 sharks on deck.

What are we going to drink?
“In the tropics, on hot days, you can pour so much water into yourself that it will flow back out of your mouth, but you will still feel thirsty. The body does not need water, but, oddly enough, salt.”
Fifty containers with 1,100 liters of spring water were loaded aboard the Kon-Tiki before sailing to the Polynesian islands. This supply would easily last for several months of travel. But after a few weeks, the travelers felt that the water had spoiled and tasted bad. Heyerdahl often thought about how his Indian predecessors coped with thirst. They stored water in dried hollowed out gourds and thick bamboo trunks. They drank water from the holes, after which they plugged the holes with strong plugs. In addition, the aborigines had secrets with which they survived even when the water dried up. They “squeezed” the caught fish, resulting in the release of a liquid that could quench their thirst.
Travelers mixed fresh water from sea water, and soon learned to drink sea water itself - when they accidentally learned that oat grains almost completely destroy its unpleasant salty taste.

Is there a way to get in touch?
There was a small radio station on the raft, with the help of which the expedition made contact.

What ocean dangers await us?

High waves crashing onto the raft. What saved us was that the water easily drained into the cracks between the logs.
- impossible control of the raft and submission to the current. Pilot and steering oar. The stern of the ship should always be exposed to the wind.

Sharks
- at night you need to get attached
- how to land on the shore?
“Many ships in the Tuamotu archipelago area were trapped by underwater reefs and smashed to pieces on the coral. We couldn’t see the insidious trap from the sea.”
After 90 days of travel, Heyerdahl's team began to feel the approach of earth. Schools of birds appeared in the sky, purposefully flying to the west. The raft was carried straight to one of the many islands of Polynesia - the islet of Puka Puka in the Tuamotu archipelago. But the current carried the raft past the piece of land and dragged it further.
A few days later the raft sailed to Raroia Atoll. Here, a whole obstacle course awaited the crew: to get to the ground, the team had to find a passage through a wall of razor-sharp coral reefs. Exhausted trying to break through the reef, the travelers decided to “ride” it at high tide. Holding tightly to the raft, they survived several terrible hours under the blows of powerful waves. After which they managed to get across the reef and wade to sandy shore. Everything worked out! Ahead of the team were dances with the natives, festive ceremonies in Tahiti and a ceremonial return home - already on a passenger ship.

How to calculate how fast a raft is moving?
They threw a piece of balsa into the water and measured the time it took for the raft to overtake this piece. (By the way, this could be a good problem for those children who already know how to calculate speed if time and distance are known)

What should we do with the discoveries that lie ahead of us? How to remember all the details and interesting details?

You need to keep a ship's log and record all observations there, sketch new species of fish and other sea creatures.

Here are examples of entries about fish in the logbook that Heyerdahl kept:
“11/V. This evening, when we were having dinner on the edge of the raft, some huge sea animal surfaced next to us twice. It frothed all the water and disappeared. We could not understand what it was.”

"6/VI. Herman saw a fat fish with a dark back and a white belly, it had a thin tail and many spines. It jumped out of the water to the right of the raft."

I told Osa who Heyerdahl's team came across during their voyage: shark, bonito, tuna, flying fish, swordfish, whale, pilot fish, coryphaena, flying squid.

Thorstein once showed a simply incredible trick - such things only happen in the stories of boastful fishermen. We were sitting and having lunch, suddenly he put his fork aside, dipped his hand into the water, and before we had time to look back, the sea began to boil and a hefty dorado. Everything was explained simply: Thorsten caught a piece of fishing line, and at the other end there was a slightly puzzled coryphaena that Eric had missed the day before.
This fish has a magnificent color: in the water the scales shimmered blue-green, the fins sparkled with gold. And when you pull her onto the raft, an amazing transformation takes place before your eyes. When falling asleep, the fish first became gray with black spots, then completely silvery-white. But after four to five minutes it gradually returned to its original color. And in water, the coryphen sometimes changes color, like a chameleon. You notice some “new” copper-colored fish, take a closer look, and this is our old friend - the coryphaena.

Early in the morning we found a very small squid on the roof of the cabin. Puzzle! He himself did not fit in there, this can be seen from the fact that there were no ink stains anywhere, only a black ring around the “baby” himself. It wasn't dropped on the roof by a seabird, otherwise we would have found beak or claw marks. Apparently, he was thrown there by a wave, although none of the night watch could remember such a hefty wave.
It is known that a squid moves according to the same principle as a jet plane. With enormous force, it pushes water through a channel inside the body and swims backwards with quick jerks, and the tentacles collected in a cluster stretch behind the head, making the squid streamlined. Two round, fleshy folds of skin on the sides act as rudders and as oars when the squid is not in a hurry.

If our small kerosene lantern stood on the deck at night, its light would attract guests - flying fish, big and small, rushed over the raft. They crash into a cabin or sail and splash onto the deck. After all, they can only accelerate and take off in the water, so they lie there, helplessly flapping their long pectoral fins, like big-eyed herrings. The fish flew quite quickly. The way he pokes his muzzle right into your face was very sensitive. In the morning we fried our catch. The cook's first duty when he got up in the morning was to walk along the deck and collect all the flying fish that had landed during the night. Usually there were six to eight of them, and once we counted twenty-six fatty fish. Knut was simply upset when the flying fish landed in his hand, and not directly on the frying pan in which he had just melted the lard.

The sky was covered with clouds and the night was pitch black, so Thorstein placed a kerosene lantern near his head so that the watchmen could see where to step when entering and leaving. About four o'clock Thorstein woke up because the lantern had fallen and something cold and slippery was lashing his ears. A flying fish, he decided, and began to fumble around to grab it and throw it overboard. He came across something wet, long, and snake-like, and he pulled his hand away as if he had been burned. While Thorstein was busy with the extinguished lantern, the invisible night guest evaded and crawled towards Herman. Herman jumped up, and then I woke up, and the giant squid that at night floats to the surface in these latitudes immediately came to mind. Finally the lantern came on and we saw Herman: he was sitting with a triumphant look, clutching in his hand a thin fish wriggling like an eel. It was about a meter long, snake-like body, huge black eyes; long predatory jaws are studded with sharp teeth that could fold back, allowing food to pass through.
All this fuss woke up Bengt, and we brought a lantern and a long fish to his eyes. He sat up in his sleeping bag and said sleepily:
- Nonsense, such animals don’t exist.
After which he turned over and calmly fell asleep again.
Bengt was almost right. It later turned out that the six of us were the first to see a snake fish - snake mackerel - alive. Until then, on the coast of South America and on Galapagos Islands Only her skeletons were found, and even then only a few times.

It was whale shark, the largest of the sharks and generally the largest modern fish. It is very rare. The monster was so huge that when he decided to dive under the raft, we saw his head on one side and his tail on the other. His muzzle was so ridiculous and stupid that we simply could not help laughing, although we understood perfectly well: if this mountain of muscles decided to attack us, all that would remain of our balsa logs would be splinters. The whale shark continued to circle right under the raft, and we wondered how it would end. Here again she slid under the oar and lifted it with her back. We stood ready along the sides, holding hand harpoons that looked like toothpicks in front of this colossus. It seemed that the shark had no intention of leaving us; it followed us like a faithful dog, staying close to the raft.

Map.
The Kon-Tiki sailed from the Peruvian port of Callao on April 28, 1947. And on August 7, the raft reached the end point of its journey - Raroia Atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago. In this way, about 3,770 miles (or 6,980 km) were covered in 101 days.

The article I used to write this post is http://redigo.ru/article/240
Many of the photographs are from Heyerdahl's book.

I watched the 2012 film “Kon-Tiki” and showed several excerpts from it to Osya. Just in case, I’ll write excerpts here in time, in case someone else wants to show them to the children. I didn’t show the whole film, especially since there is an unpleasant scene when they rip open the shark’s belly, and the parrot is also eaten by the shark, although this was not in the book, and I decided that the information that the bird was carried away by a wave - enough for the Axis.
So, I showed the episodes:
from 37 min. 40 each - with crab
from 42:36 to 49:50 - with a storm
from 51:02 to 53:10 - with a whale shark that swims beautifully around the raft
from hour to hour:02 - about luminous water
from hour: 24 to hour: 26 - how they saw the bird and tried to land on the shore
and at the end - how they hugged and rejoiced.

And of course, you can watch the film that Heyerdahl himself directed, and which eventually won an Oscar:

And now about the game: first of all, we made a raft - for this we turned our dining table upside down, tied ropes to it, and hung craft paper on the ropes