Rafts near Australia

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33386, 19 November 1973, Page 16

Rafts near Australia

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) I QUITO (Ecuador), Nov. 18. i Members of a 12-mam international expedition trying to reach Australia from I Ecuador on board three i wooden rafts reported yesterday that they were within 100 km (60 miles) of the Australian coast and that they expected to reach land today. The "Huancavilcas” expedition — named after Ecuador’s pre-Colombian people—is trying to prove conclusively that fleets of Huancavilcas rafts could have reached’ Polynesia across the Pacific before Christopher Columbus discovered America. The 16,000 km (10,000 miles) expedition has so far taken 159 days since they sailed from Guayaquil, southwest of Quito last May. The expedition, headed by Mr Vital Alsar. a 38-year-old Spaniard and former French Foreign Legionnaire, is sailing all-wooden rafts similar to those used by the Huancavilcas. Mr Alsar made two previous attempts to reach Australia on board single rafts, failing in 1967, and succeeding in 1970 after a voyage of 161 days. Strong winds which brought a crisis three days ago, pushing the expedition rapidly south past Australia towards the South Pole had subsided. Mr Alsar reported) to an amateur radio operator. |