The entire crew of 14 sailors on two rafts, attempting to recreate the great Norwegian Kon-Tiki expedition, was taken aboard a cargo ship still far from the coast of Chile, writes NRK.
The ship managed to make a voyage from Peru to Chile’s Easter Island just in 43 days, but the return trip met the obstacles in the form of atypical weather conditions in the area, which pulled the rafts off the course.
On Wednesday the crew gave up the wish to repeat the Thor Heyerdahl’s success and asked for help.
– Everybody is in good shape, but a bit tired after spending 114 days at sea, comments Mario Montejo, the chief of maritime safety in the Chilean government,.
Reaching the Easter Island before Christmas, Kon-Tiki 2 had set off for Chile on the way back in January but strong currents due to El Niño weather phenomenon drastically changed their course.
The original expedition in 1947 wanted to show that it was possible to sail from Peru to Polynesia on a raft. The fact that seemed laughable at that time. However, the Kon-Tiki expedition, organised by the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, managed to prove this.
The current expedition also collected valuable and important marine research data from the South Pacific, from the atmosphere and surface waters, as well as about El Niño.
The crew of the Kon-Tiki 2 expedition comes from Norway, Peru, Sweden, Mexico, New Zealand and Russia.
