The reed boat embarks on its historic journey

Dea/ August 16, 2019/ Journeys/ 0 comments

The reed boat, which began construction on May 5 near Varna, is now ready to go. After being put on the water on August 1st, the crew had little time to make test sails – in Varna Lake and in the bay.


Despite the windy weather, the ship did water tests


The difficulties they faced in the practical part were the differences from the training model that the team worked on last year in a German lake and the actual construction they would sail with. The problem is that the wooden parts have absorbed more water and become almost stationary. The other problem is that none of them are sailors and the people on board lack the experience to even stretch the sail. According to Theodore Rokov, an archaeologist from the Varna Rim and part of the crew, this will catch up on the move and in real situations. Others are also optimistic, and believe that despite the difficulties, they will be able to set sail this afternoon from the Port of Varna to no longer delay the start of the Aborah 4 expedition. The vessel, made of reeds from Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, is reportedly an experimental vessel. Such ships were used to sail in ancient times, and so did Tour Heyerdahl and the captain – Dominic Görlitz of Germany – wants to continue his work. They knew each other personally, even being friends for about 7-8 years before the traveler Tour Hyderdal left this world. For Dr. Görlitz, the expedition is part of the mission of his life, and for 30 years he has worked theoretically on the details of history, even defending his doctoral thesis on the subject. The ship will sail to the Dardanelles and their final destination is Crete. The idea is to make a section from point B to point A of the ancient route, which probably became maritime and commercial links with ancient Egypt. It is a pity that the plans are changing and despite the preliminary arrangements on board to be the Bolivian Indians Fermin Limachi and his son, who made the reed ship, they will not realize it. The reason – an EU visa was expired. If plans to leave Bulgaria at the end of July were met, this would not have happened, but life often changes our plans.


Limachi father and son – some of the few people in the world who know how to make a cane without drawing. They are here in the middle of June. The cane container has delayed its arrival in Bulgaria and this reflects on the delay in the construction of the boat


Last night, the crew cooked late under Captain Görlitz’s instructions, loaded food provisions and, though tired and anxious, were ready to prove their point. That long before the time of the great geographical discoveries, sea connections existed in the world.


Mark is from Germany and Tom is from America. They are part of the international team on board. We are at the highest point of the boat from where the ship is heading


Today, 16.08.2019 at 16h there are plans to leave Varna


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