One third of the distance Callao - Raroia covered!
24.mai.2006 @ 09:02:05
- We have sailed 1329 nautical miles, and have covered one third of the leg to Raroia. In comparison, we are 350 nautical miles ahead of Kon-Tiki on the same date, Øyvin writes in the logon the 22nd of May. The guara technique has proved to work well.
- We're sailing the great circle in direction Raroia. We have a much better possibility to stay on course than Kon-Tiki had, and that is exactly what Tangaroa was trying to prove. Kon-Tiki used 101 days. Let's see how much time we need. As long as we have wind, we're heading straight ahead towards Polynesia.
When it comes to the weather, the expedition has been extremely lucky so far. Yesterday was quite calm, but most of the time there has been a breeze of varying strength. From time to time they have some showers, but most days are sunny and warm. The height of the waves varies from 0 to 3 meters, at times on top of a ground swell. The water temperature has stabilized at 24-25 ºC and air temperature at 26-27 ºC, so there is no need to complain!
This is how they describe it in their last report:
- Today it's sunny with a few clouds, and we have a gentle breeze pushing us along. Last night was quite windy with heavy showers. The sea builds up quite easily out here, but it never gets choppy. Now we sail with a wave height of about three meters. The raft creaks and groans, but manages the waves surprisingly well. The water often covers the main logs, but the cross beams which keep the raft together and carry the bamboo deck give us enough freeboard to keep our feet dry. In old photos from Kon-Tiki we can see the helmsman sitting with his feet directly on the main logs, and he would get a wet trip on such days.
The crew is happy and satisfied so far! They never expected things to run so smoothly!
The wildlife around the raft is really exciting. Frigate birds, Dorado fish and flying fish have been following them for a long time now, and a couple of days ago they had a curious sea turtle (Caretta caretta) visiting them. Olav even got the chance to dive in and take a closer look at it!
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