1961-02-18 — Page 6

THE CHINA MAIL,

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1961.

STOM RAFTURAFT THIS WAS THE STRANGEST SEA ADVENTURE OF OUR TIMES...

Starbuck

PHOENIX Is.

Rakalanga

SAMOA

MARQUESAS IS. KON-TIKI EXPEDITION

TUAMOTU Is.

520

MILES

Mangareva

*Pitcaim

GALAPAGOS SOUTH

Easter Is

PACIFIC

Q CE AN

The raft-to-raft journey is clown by the heavy ne

the dotted line is the course of the Kand expedition : the thin les indicate the direction of currents

ROCKAT 102MENT

CONSTITUCIÓN

After nearly 100 days at sea, the five men knew their raft was doomed.

Their survival depended on the success of one last gamble.

If their plan failed, they could be dragged down into the sea. But they had nothing to lose.

Time to abandon raft

E raft under our feet was dying fast. She was a half-submerged wreek, incapable of being steered, un- fit to carry any sail. She had taken a dreadful battering since we left South America nearly four months previous- ly to sail across the Pacific. Now the regcan's final victory was very near.

Ahead ny the tiny atoll of Star- buck. It was 250 miles away-10 days' drifting, lurching progress if wind and current continued to drive us on our jaesent course.

But the Tahiti Nui II could not possibly lust another 14 days. It was time for us to go time for the Tahiti Nui 11 ta perform her last sembre duter

u to build a new, lighter, hul more seaworthy escape craft.

Simple plan

should

What kid of a raft that he? Once the deckion was taken, we were all talking

at

once-Jean Polissier. Han Fischer, Juanito the Chilean, and myself.

little

*

a

so we build

new

one

hamper. But every minute was valuable so we decided to start Ать impatient gesture from Eric checked us abruptly.

THE STORY OF ALAIN BRUNilding the boat at once.

as told to Bengt Danielsson

Then a new voice cut into the discussion, the voler of Eric de Bisschop

Eric was the captain of the expedition. But for weeks be had been terribly ill and Estless. The rigours of the journey had been far too much for a OPEL of GR

"My companion" says

watch is

my

Zhangraph rependered by the controvy në Jätsi Pet Smycka, 02.L, and dhe British Equestrian Sun

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"1%e wom is kailing, where it often pris wet. I've worn it skiing, where it gets covered in snow, and I've wom it la 30* of frost, a wells in the heat and dust of the Sahara desert. Nothing seega lo affect It just goes on keeping perfect time-and winding itself, which means there's one thing less to remember.

**Ton delighted with my jezutiful Oyster Perpetualand Amy constantcompanion.” The Ladies' Roses Oyster Perpetual is kdeal for women who kid busy and active liver. 28 ki so perfectly lovely to look at. and whatever you do–nide, szil, ski, swim -il koeps perfort time. The pro-crainenco

constant

PAT SMYTHE

The world's leading woman show-jumper

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But, at crucial moments, he all emerged briefly from his coma to give sound. Incisive advice.

It was so on this day. August 6., 1953-the 98th day since we had left port.

While he had been lying in his little box-like bunk on the cabin roof he had evidently been thinking over this question of an erupe raft.

Now he merely asked us to look at a sketch he had made, and we instantly realised that put beside his design our own ideas were clumsy monstroslifes. Eric's simple design adapted

native the pattern of with two outriggers, to the Imaterials we had available.

By stages

canoc,

"Weit a minute," he sald. "You've quite forgaten that it's the aluminium tanks more than anything else which are keeping Therefore Tabiti Nui II afloat. you ought to complete the new rat before you take away the tanks. But of course she can't

"So if we're not to fall

into the sea between two useless ratts you must do your building by sloges.

be completed without containers.

Overboard

• Tahiti Nui ti in her last days. Her deck is under water.

the sea washes through the cabin.

He put cn cry of Jean's diving helmets and disappeared into the waves.

Juanito, however, shut his bag wedged into the ratt's bottom again in a few minutes and de- about five feet under water. clared emphatically that fe "First complete the wooden meant to keep all his clothes, trane of the new rati. Next take up the 10 small 10-gallon

fasten them in their tanks, pinces, and launch her.

ilis reason, which we found a little far-fetched, was that he did not want to return to Chile in his loin-cloth.

Like a cork

Raft-bullding in mid-ocean... and the crew awim from one craft to the other with provisions and timber taken from the old raft for Inclusion In the now one.

the scas running very high we were only just able to finish there was a danger that the this tiring work before darkness eccnpe raft might capsize as feil. soon as we let go. So we lifted box before Erle out of the making another attempt.

were

As both eur vessels clmost equally. unsteady. We divided the crow between them, Finally our "lifebout" ald Eric and Jean spending the into the water and floated well, night en board the new one and though she pitched a good deal. Juanito, Hans and I on boar

Wo

That did not worry us, for

that u convinced wore

steadying cargo was all she

needed,

the old one.

The next day we set

completing the escape craft.

abcut

We hauled her in quickly She still lacked a deck, and while Jaunito and I held mast, steering car, and complete

on tight, Jean and Hans ing crosbeams. We believed it and would be possible to start our together lifted Erle over lald him down in the box.

El rome time towards the end of the afternoon, but again the weather beat us.

As Eric was completely help- less I asked Jean to keep him compary. Then we gave the new raft 60 feet of repe and let her go.

But she had hardly gone a

few yards when she came back with the wind and began bump against our etern planks.

10

It was fatile to push her away, for she came back again and again as obstinately as a

Leave re- duckling afraid to

"If we hen move over at once and take with us as much

That Juanito should keep his From time to time, ho of our gear as we can, there's clothes was not in itself of any appeared, blowing hard to take mother. a good prospec! of this raft consequence, but there had been in a new breath. He was ob- remaining afloat long enough previous trouble with Juanito, viously having trouble. The for you to be able to salvage the big lanks and complete the new one."

the

He proposed that all the alu- We began to clear up minium tarts which were still after-deck, where we meant to The clearing in position below the Tabiti do our building, Nuf's necks should be brought up was an easy Job, for the only

raft. this left there were 12 up and used for the new They would be arranged in sirung above 1 to contain the three rows with the larger ones bags which held our personal In the middle and the smaller belongings. The deck itself was enen un both vides as stebilising awash. Пoats.

Ench row of tanks would be held together by

wooden crossbcamS

A

Warning

At Eric's suggestion we holsted and he had refused to take his reason proved to be that the on her a sall the size of a towel

W35 unexpectedly first tank was holed, and full of The rent waler. It took the efforts of us good; indeed she was now try

log to sail away from us. all to get it up to the surface.

furn on watch.

Exhausting

Crowded

Neither Jucalio nor I waro troubled to any extent by the motion 4 we crawled about on the pitching escape raft.

Hans, much

But poor Jean, and who had to loosen as wood as possible from the old raft and swim across with Ui, fought an uneven battle with the waves. It was a long job.

In fact, It was another two

days before the vessel was finally ready and we all spent

night aboard her.

Just to find room for us all

on the little deck platform, which measured only five feet by six feet six inches and was

I feared that this episode would soon be followed by others more serious. I warned But the second tank rose to him that I would not take him the surface and floated like a other small tanks เน!! on our escape craft if he did cork. The

also came up without trouble. not behave properly.

We then went to work on the We set about lashing them to big forty-gallon tanks. The first This seemed to work, for he the wooden hamra. promised both to help build the

Soon would come the criticalne we loosened was haled, and almost entirely hidden by all Iull of water, but the four our boxes, sacks and bundles, craft and take watches like the moment for the removal of the remaining tanks

were all in was a problem. rest of us-if only he might big tanks from under the old good condition. keep his clothes. I agreed.

To our surprise Tahiti Nui II The danger was that once the He made almost comic efforts tanks were taken from her the rank only abou [cur inches to be weful when we began to might sink and drug our escape make the wooden frames tor the craft down wlih her. tanks, This proved more difficult than we had expected because of the violent waves which re- peatedly threatened to wash a away, as well as our precious wood arti or irreplaceable

The bags were an unnecessary

cellcra to get rid of rooney or

Irame.

stout and were to be stretched across the three rows of tanks 10 keep dead weight which we should be them in place.

The first problem was how to later, so we decided not to post- join together the various sticks pone the Inevitable sacrifice for and scraps of wood. There were sentimental reasons. not more than 60 nalls in our fool-box, and most of them were rusty and bent.

tools.

raft.

deeper.

We were still fearful that at Therefore we had to launch the new raft it completed condition.

her partly any moment the old raft might

The danger

plunge to the bottom.

So, instead of lashing the two rafts side by Ride the Ident porilion for transferring the big tenks we let the lifeboat"

Our real feelings may be Judged from the fact that we uld not fing the bags over- But we hoped optimistically board at once, but opened that we might be able to pull them and reluctantly threw out some of the nails which we

treasured away our

passes saw here and there in the cabin sions one by one.

A long trail of books, shirts, roof without any disastrous con- zequences, and to use ropes and amari shore-going clothes when this limited supply come were soon hobbing about in our Juanito now offered, with with him aboard.

wake to the great delight of a touching eagerness, 10 dive shark that had been following down and bring up the 10-gallon Then, after much mighty us faithfully for weeks.

tanks, which were firmly pushing, we realized that with

When the frames were com- On the new raft we had made drift away, and swam over with pleted, the next task was to get an oblong box of planks in the tanks, one by one. the tanks from underneath the which Eric could lie. We put Tahiti Nui.

him in it and made our Arat

to an end.

Our only tools were a sheath- krite, a blunt axe, a fle, and a

THE

чеклено

TUS GIRLS

ARE COMING

FOR BRIDGE,

Harry Appleby

(WO'RE BATING

GAMBOLS.

OUT TO-NIGHT,

DEAR

SO KEEP OUT OF THE WAY

THAT WAS

A LOVELY

MEAL

fast

them Then we made attempt to launch the new raft under the middle frame of the

new raft.

by Barry Aphlebyy

LATER

YOU COULD STILL

BE GNOOZING,

IF YOU HADN'T BURET OUT

LAUGHING WHEN WE WERE

BIDDING

WHAT WAS SO WONDERFUL ABOUT THAT MEAL?

IT WAS

FREE

Every swim of 30 yards there and back took much time, and

Cooking Problems Solved

WITH GAS

tf It's Japan that you seek

Fly AIR-INDIA

Three flights a week.

We finally lay down on top of old the equipment and pressed ourselves together like surdines. The raft ay so deep that the waves llcked the underside of the thin deck. I estimated our freeboard at à foot.

'I stay...'

The exhausting and hazardous had business of building her

our reposed great strain on tempers. In the last stages we blckered ceaselessly about tho most absurd and trivial things, Erle was the only one who kipt out of these arguments, But it was clear from his occa lonal angry snortings that he had heard every word of our petly squabbles, and condemned our behaviour.

Even so, I was stariled when he suddenly announced that lo was through with ut, and would rather be left cboard our old, sinking raft,

At first I took him to mean he way voluntarily Decking death solely brokuso he could no longer bear these wrangies.

But when I tried to talk him out of this mood, I began to wonder whether there was not some other and weightler roa-

20:1

Could it be that he wanted to disappear now so that the now craft would have one fower passenger to carry, and give us others a better chanch

of survival?

There was only one way to resolve this situation. I toki hun that if he persisted I would At stay with him. He yielded Iasi, slowly and reluctantly.

During the calm night Di August 13-14 we paid a scnll- mental farewell višt to Tahlil Nul II, which was now exactly like a rubmarine ready to dive. When we' crawled on board the new rafi ngalm the sea was rippled by a capful of wind, and wa décided to cast off.

3. The breeze was just strong enough to all our rolls, and wo slowly parted company with Tahiti Nui 11.

(Confined on bag. 7)

Ti