And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 15:49:11 EST From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Return-path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Crew To Make Voyage in Wooden Raft Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 15:40:34 EST Crew To Make Voyage in Wooden Raft .c The Associated Press By JARED KOTLER BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Sailing in the Pacific on a 60-foot balsa wood raft, an American-led crew hopes to exalt the legacy of an ancient seafaring people and prove they were capable of making long-distance voyages. The four-man crew began its journey in Ecuador, stopped for emergency repairs in Colombia after sea worms feasted on the raft's hull, and now plans to cross the Pacific to Hawaii. The sea worms forced the 20-ton raft to stop for emergency repairs at the coastal town of Bahia Solano on Oct. 30, two weeks after it began its journey. Its damaged trunks replaced and covered with seven coats of worm-proof tar, ``La Manten'' went back to sea this weekend. The crew hopes to reach Acapulco, Mexico, before March, then head to Hawaii, a 3,300-mile Pacific crossing that could take three more months. Led by 34-year-old John Haslett, a former newspaper distributor from Dallas, the raft is a meticulous replica of those used by the Mantenos of what is now northern Ecuador. The pre-Columbian civilization dates back to 500 A.D. Haslett was inspired by Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian ethnographer who described his 1947 raft crossing of the South Pacific in the book, ``Kon Tiki.'' Heyerdahl drifted from Peru to Polynesia, bolstering the theory that South Pacific islanders descended from people who migrated there from South America. Haslett said ``Kon Tiki'' changed his life. Heyerdahl, now in his 80s and living in the Canary Islands, offered him advice both on steering with the Manteno's system of moveable centerboards and on crossing the difficult equatorial countercurrent. Some scholars believe the Manteno ran a vast maritime empire, trading by ocean with people as far north as the Aztecs in what is now Mexico. ``These people were making voyages of 3,000 or 4,000 miles, perhaps as many as 600 or 700 years before Columbus arrived. The Greeks weren't doing that,'' Haslett said in a telephone interview from Bahia Solano. Yet the Manteno's history is largely ignored, said Haslett, who is determined to correct the slight. Working with archaeologist Cameron McPherson Smith, a 31-year-old from San Diego, Calif., Haslett and crew built their raft according to records preserved by Manteno ancestors living in Ecuador. By sailing his raft from Ecuador to Mexico, Haslett hopes to experience life as a Manteno sea mariner and settle any doubts of their long-distance voyages. ``The trading route now is strictly a hypothesis, we want to find out how long it takes, what happens,'' he said. The second-leg of the journey, from Mexico to Hawaii, is to correct another perceived historical slight. ``If we can strike that tiny little point in the middle of the ocean, I think we've proven that the raft is a real oceangoing ship,'' said Haslett. This is Haslett's second attempt. He got as far as Costa Rica in a 1995 voyage but was forced to shore by the voracious sea worms. The new raft was put together in the Ecuadorean village of Salango, once the seat of the Manteno civilization. Seven men worked 12-hour shifts for 28 days, roping together the balsa and bamboo foundations with hemp strands. The two canvas sails, spanning 742 square feet, were stitched out of Indian cotton by a tent-maker in Guayaquil, Ecuador. A small bamboo cabin provides shelter. After leaving Colombia on Saturday, La Manten faces more dangers: unpredictable winds, testy currents, jagged rocks, and modern-day pirates known to board boats, kill their inhabitants and steal their wares along a lawless stretch of coastline from Colombia to Panama. The raft has been stocked with five months of water and rations, including 400 pounds of rice, 300 pounds of flour and plenty of marmalade, hot chocolate and coffee. The main staple, however, will be fish, which the men plan to catch and cook on gas stoves. The 5,500-mile voyage will cost $75,000, most from donations. Along with a ham radio and an inflatable life raft, the stoves are the only items not available to the Manteno mariners. Alejandro Martinez is one of two Colombian crew members along with 28-year-old documentary filmmaker Tyler Young, from Bethel Park, Penn. Martinez joined the expedition after walking across the raft. ``It looks fragile. But once you get up on top, you realize it's a solid ship, well-designed, with resistant masts and well-designed sails. That gives you confidence,'' said Martinez, 28. Enough confidence to ride a wood raft to Hawaii with a guy who had an epiphany reading ``Kon Tiki?'' ``There are opportunities you only get once in a lifetime. You have to take them,'' he said. EDITOR'S NOTE -- The crew's Internet site is at www.balsaraft.com. AP-NY-01-05-99 1539EST Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. To edit your profile, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:NewsProfiles"> NewsProfiles</A>. For all of today's news, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:News">News</A>. <<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>> If you think you are too small to make a difference; try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.... 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