Vital Alsar Pacific raft expeditions that ancient mariners knew the Pacific currents and winds as well as modern humans know road maps. It was hoped to double the distance achieved by the Kon-Tiki expedition, the 1947 raft crossing by Thor Heyerdahl from South America to the Polynesian islands. Like the Kon-Tiki expedition, the aim was to see if a raft made from the materials available in the 16th century in pre-Columbian South America, when such vessels had been observed by Spanish sailors, could navigate the journey. Having been surprised by the seaworthiness of La Balsa, being confident they could have gone on to reach Africa
Kon-Tiki expedition sea. A book documenting the voyage and raft was released in 1948 by Thor Heyerdahl, called "". A film documentary about the voyage and raft was released in 1950, called "Kon-Tiki". It won the 1951 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. "Kon-Tiki" is a 2012 Norwegian historical dramatized feature film about the 1947 "Kon-Tiki" expedition. It stars Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen as Thor Heyerdahl and is directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. It was the highest-grossing film of 2012 in Norway and the country's most expensive production to date. Kon-Tiki expedition The "Kon-Tiki" expedition was a 1947 journey by raft