Ra Pushed Towards Mexico

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32011, 11 June 1969, Page 15

Ra Pushed Towards Mexico

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) CAIRO, June 10.

The Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl, radioed today that westerly winds were pushing his papyrus boat toward Mexico after a perilous time in which rough seas broke the rudder and the boat almost crashed on to rocky coasts. The experience led him to speculate that ancient Egyptian sailors subjected to similar conditions might have reached America by mixed fortunes.

Mr Heyerdahl and his international crew of six, now in the third week of a threemonth trip to Mexico, lost some oars in fighting the waves. But the Ra was now sailing smoothly in the Atlantic with rudder and mast damage fixed, the newspaper, “Al Ahram,” quoted Heyerdahl as saying in a radio message it received today. Two crew members fell ill during this time, but have recovered, it said. The Ra—l2 tons of interlocking reeds held by ropes and cords—has absorbed several tons of sea water which swelled it a little and thus tightened the ropes round it,

reported Mr Heyerdahl. He is seeking to prove that ancient Egyptians carried their civilisation to the Americas in Ratype crafts.