The Voyage of the Manteño: The Education of a Modern-Day Expeditioner
A few weeks ago, I wrote about rediscovering Kon-Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl's riveting story of sailing across the Pacific Ocean in a balsa raft in 1947.What has always struck me about Kon-Tiki, even as a boy, is how Heyerdahl's narrative is suffused with a lightness of spirit, even an innocence. The voyage was a ripping good time--just a group of good-natured guys having a wonderful, fantastic adventure.
The Manteño did not have that kind of voyage.
John Haslett's series of balsa raft voyages, unlike Heyerdah's, were stalked by disaster. The first expedition, planned for Ecuador to Hawaii, ended in Panama. A second voyage, attempting to sail along historical trade routes originating from the western coast of Ecuador, was largely dependent on the vagaries of coastal winds, not ocean currents, and in spite of some use of modern technologies, the voyages never reached their destinations. The original visions of expeditionary grandeur were methodically dismantled by the sea and the shifting winds, and it's nothing short of miraculous that there were no fatalities among the crew.
If all this sounds like a difficult story to read, it can be, but only because it can be almost painful to read the dense retelling of the voyages as they slowly, inexorably declined. It's also excellent reading, though, and the almost Shakespearean dimensions of the tragedy are dramatic and gripping. The Voyage of the Manteño is a bookend to Kon-Tiki, different in course but kindred in spirit, and if you enjoyed Heyerdahl, this book will fascinate you as well.
Here's an Amazon link: The Voyage of the Manteño , and here's a link to Haslett's website as well.
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