This just caught my attention on Yahoo News. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/Science/Thor_Heyerdahl/ Many of you 40+ yrs. will probably remember hearing of Thor Heyerdahl. This brought back a flood of memories for me as I remember this story, written in 1947! It was one of the first books from my father’s bookshelf I picked up and read cover to cover. Amazing guy who was a true explorer, waterman and ocean voyager. If you have never heard of the story of the Kon Tiki or RA/RA II take a minute and read about this guy and his life. He had to pack light but I bet he had an air mattress on board. Tom Sterne
One of my all time favorite books was Kon Tiki. Aku Aku was an early take on Easter Island. He wrote several other books as well. The guy put it all on the line and risked everything while all the "experts’ said he was nuts. Somehow, he was able to assemble international crews and pull it off. I’ve always thought of him as a hero and when I heard of his passing this evening on the radio, I had goose bumps and a lump in my throat for a long time.
One of my all time favorite books was Kon Tiki. Aku Aku was an early take > on Easter Island. He wrote several other books as well. The guy put it all > on the line and risked everything while all the "experts’ said he was > nuts. Somehow, he was able to assemble international crews and pull it > off. I’ve always thought of him as a hero and when I heard of his passing > this evening on the radio, I had goose bumps and a lump in my throat for a > long time. Yes, I`ve felt much the same way. Heros like Thor Heyerdahl are exceedingly rare… how many like him will we see in our lifetimes? Truly a man for the ages, and now in his passing, more than ever. Aloha.
Many of you 40+ yrs. will probably remember hearing of Thor Heyerdahl. > This brought back a flood of memories for me as I remember this story, > written in 1947! It was one of the first books from my father’s bookshelf > I picked up and read cover to cover. I picked up the very same book from a bookshelf in my grandparents house when I was a kid. The bookshelf belonged to my fathers when he was a kid.>>> Amazing guy who was a true explorer, waterman and ocean voyager. One of the last great heroes have died. Peace over his memory. Håvard
Håvard I must of read Kon Tiki a dozen times when i was a kid. I,d love to have Pat Curren shape me a board out of the balsa from Thors raft.
Yes, I`ve felt much the same way. Heros like Thor Heyerdahl are > exceedingly rare… how many like him will we see in our lifetimes? Truly > a man for the ages, and now in his passing, more than ever.>>> Aloha. As a collector of Hawaiiana, I recently found a book at the O’side swap meet, “The dicovery of Hawaii”. It discribes how the polynesians ventured northward in search of new islands, one of the items that they took with them was the sweet potato, native to south america, hmmmmm, very interesting. Have any of you noticed the similarities of the Makah indians of the pacific northwest to the Hawaiians. Totem and tiki carvers, creaters of carved voyaging canoes and a language that is very Hawaiian. The Hawaiians new that the iwa bird never set down on water, each spring it flew north and in the fall returned to Hawaii. It’s home Haleiwa, “house of the iwa bird”
Have any of you noticed the similarities of the Makah indians of the > pacific northwest to the Hawaiians. Totem and tiki carvers, creaters of > carved voyaging canoes and a language that is very Hawaiian. The Hawaiians > new that the iwa bird never set down on water, each spring it flew north > and in the fall returned to Hawaii. It’s home Haleiwa, “house of the > iwa bird” If you ever pass through Oslo, Norway, go to a little maritime museum on the south side of the harbor. They have a Kon Tiki raft - been too many years since I was there and I can’t remember if it was the original or a replica - and I think the originals from some of the other voyages. Also some arctic exploration ships. They all look so tiny - the average recreational ocean fisherman probably has a bigger one stashed on a trailer in his driveway these days. The L.A. times this morning said the man’s last project, 60 yers after Kon Tiki, was searching in the Don River delta in Russia for remains of a town which may be the basis of the 13th century account of the home of the Norse Gods, Asgard, and a conqueror named Odin. It appears academics scoff, saying it doesn’t exist. “I don’t listen to the people who sit behind desks and think they know everything,” he told the Chicago Tribune in 1991. “It is utterly illogical to think cultures developed without direct contact after man developed seagoing vessels about 5,000 years ago.” Good words then, and now.
If you ever pass through Oslo, Norway, go to a little maritime museum on > the south side of the harbor. They have a Kon Tiki raft - been too many > years since I was there and I can’t remember if it was the original or a > replica - and I think the originals from some of the other voyages. Also > some arctic exploration ships. They all look so tiny - the average > recreational ocean fisherman probably has a bigger one stashed on a > trailer in his driveway these days.>>> The L.A. times this morning said the man’s last project, 60 yers after Kon > Tiki, was searching in the Don River delta in Russia for remains of a town > which may be the basis of the 13th century account of the home of the > Norse Gods, Asgard, and a conqueror named Odin. It appears academics > scoff, saying it doesn’t exist.>>> “I don’t listen to the people who sit behind desks and think they > know everything,” he told the Chicago Tribune in 1991. “It is > utterly illogical to think cultures developed without direct contact after > man developed seagoing vessels about 5,000 years ago.”>>> Good words then, and now. To really dream… a lifetime of bravely challenging accepted beliefs and then risking one
s life itself in the pursuit of greater things... quite different than arguing about the latest fashion trends, and how much that 401K isnt earning.
Thor was a maverick in his field…often controversial for his (so called) “far fetched” beliefs. To me, they were not all that far fetched. He had the courage (and what I believed was insight) to challenge his peers. BY THE WAY…Jim Phillips mentioned Easter Island…If any of you have the time to get up to New York before the end of August, there is a Rapa Nui exhibit (real name of “Easter” island and her people)…It’s at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and has several pieces not seen since the late eighteen hundreds (stuff which was hidden away in storage). There is an actual rongo-rongo board with heiroglyphs (rare), as well as a few exquisitely carved miniatures, and a feather headress (amongst other things). I plan on going this week (haven’t yet seen it), and I promise to report back - soon - about what it was like. Go to www.metropolitanmuseum.com, and you can (sort of) check it out. (look under current listings!). Enjoy…T.
Whoops!..sorry, boys. the met’s web site was changed to WWW.METMUSEUM.ORG. . (P.S. there’s an article in SMITHSONIAN magazine/March 2002 issue about Easter Island/Rapa Nui). …T.
If you ever pass through Oslo, Norway, go to a little maritime museum on > the south side of the harbor. They have a Kon Tiki raft - been too many > years since I was there and I can’t remember if it was the original or a > replica. It’s the real thing, shipped to Oslo in pieces then rebuilt. If you go there make sure you visit the vikingboat museum next door too. regards, Håvard
This thread and the “Wave,Shape,Moment” one above got me to thinking of days gone past. In my enviroment, surfing was part of a group of activities that included swiming, fishing, canoeing, beachcombing, working and driving boats, and reading books about sea voyages. The common thread being water. The old “watermans” concept. In relating this to my fourteen year old, the response was, “It is the same now - people are into cross-over activities like surfing, skating, and snowboarding.” I wanted to say, “no”, but stopped. She is probably correct for her enviroment. The common thread is not water, but the sensation of the moment.
This thread and the “Wave,Shape,Moment” one above got me to > thinking of days gone past. In my enviroment, surfing was part of a group > of activities that included swiming, fishing, canoeing, beachcombing, > working and driving boats, and reading books about sea voyages. The common > thread being water. The old “watermans” concept. In relating > this to my fourteen year old, the response was, “It is the same now - > people are into cross-over activities like surfing, skating, and > snowboarding.” I wanted to say, “no”, but stopped. She is > probably correct for her enviroment. The common thread is not water, but > the sensation of the moment. Patrick, I suppose I fall into that "old waterman
s" catagory... and Ive also been fortunate to have been an active participant in several of those other modern cross-over activities. Personally speaking, after nearly loosing it all, and being forced to contemplate the intrinsic values of each… yes, those various sensations of the moment are sweet, but the total experience of sea itself has no comparable peers in my life… Dale
Patrick,>>> I suppose I fall into that "old waterman
s" catagory... and Ive > also been fortunate to have been an active participant in several of those > other modern cross-over activities. Personally speaking, after nearly > loosing it all, and being forced to contemplate the intrinsic values of > each… yes, those various sensations of the moment are sweet, but the > total experience of sea itself has no comparable peers in my life…>>> Dale To carry this on, I sometimes think of “the experience” as being made up of MOTION for the activity part, and WATER for the rest of it. Years and years ago the artist, writer, bon vivant, and fishing aficianado Russell Chatham once wrote an essay for OUTSIDE magazine called “Why The Kid Went Fishing”. In it he talked about his childhood fishing experiences and included a large section about a bay he lived near and fished all the time. He detailed how he eventually came to know every inch of the place underwater after years of going out on a small boat at every tide and in every condition. He knew the bottom like he knew his bedroom. I don’t know about the rest of you, but there are a couple of point breaks I know with the same detail to this day. The motion, the riding of waves (or sailing, kayaking, windsurfing), is something which haunts and I can’t imagine ever leaving. Water, on the other hand, is something which is everywhere in degrees. Lakes, rivers, streams, and deserts. Deserts? Water is again the overwhelming element, this time by its abscence. It’s all connected if you have the right eyes… Nels