Kon-Tiki expedition was able to cross the Pacific Ocean on the balsa raft from Peru to Polynesia. A French seafarer, Éric de Bisschop, committed himself in a project he had had for some years: he built a Polynesian raft in order to cross the eastern Pacific Ocean from Tahiti to Chile (contrary to Thor Heyerdahl's crossing); the "Tahiti-Nui" left Papeete with a crew of five on November 8, 1956. When near the Juan Fernández Islands (Chile) in May 1957, the raft was in a very poor state and they asked for a towing, but it was damaged during the operation and had
Thor Heyerdahl (ship) teenagers and young adults. One of the two original owners was Detlef Soitzek, who had sailed with the Norwegian anthropologist, zoologist, ethnologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl on his "Tigris" expedition in 1977/1978, and suggested to name the ship after the famous researcher and adventurer. The ownership of the ship was subsequently turned over to an association. From spring to fall, "Thor Heyerdahl" sails mainly the Baltic Sea and participates in international sail training events. In winter, the ship has repeatedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean and sailed in the Caribbean, especially as "classroom under sails" with teenage crews. Thor Heyerdahl (ship)