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Captain´s Diary #1, 8/27/02, by Paul Harmon

We originally intended to have our boat in the water on Sunday, August 25, by 12:00 noon. Moving the boat took longer than expected, but it was a remarkable feat to watch. Nearly 70 people helped as we moved the boat, meter by meter, to the water. There were some close calls, and one of Paulino´s adobe walls was crushed by the boat as it started to slide. Four hours later we were successfully in the water.

Even though we were under way, being towed to the yacht club to greet everybody, it was immediately obvious that this boat was not ready to set sail. I had contracted for, and worked through the design for our boat to include two center boards that could be raised and lowered. The purpose for such would be to keep the boat sailing on a straight line rather than sliding sideways across the water. There were no center boards. Equally as alarming, there were no rudders, (our design called for 2) necessary for steering. I had contracted for 8 oars, 4 on each side, and I only had 5, with no means of connecting them to the boat. I had contracted for 4 sails, two of totora and two of textile. I had no sails. Again, I had NO SAILS! Naturally I was alarmed.

Our plans were to set sail that afternoon after our media party at the yacht club, but since we were so late getting in the water and since so many things were missing, we decided to leave the next morning, early, when the wind would be blowing from the East, the direction we needed to sail for Tiquina. Two of Paulino´s team, Braulio and Benjamin, both married to daughters of Paulino, assured me they would be with the boat by 7:00 am to finish the necessary items to make the boat ready to take off. By 9:00 am Monday morning I still had not seen them. Our boat sat helpless at the yacht club. I went to Paulino´s to find them standing around talking. I made my concerns very apparent. They agreed to meet me at the yacht club immediately. Several hours later they showed up. They brought 2 totora sails, no more. They connected one rudder, no more. We still had no dagger boards or center boards. But they assured me the rudder would keep us straight. I knew better. They worked on the boat and eventually told me the boat was ready but advised me not to sail until the next morning when the wind would be better. As I already lost over a day because they were not ready, I chose to set sail anyway, even if we lost ground. At least we would learn what the limitations of the boat were.

We set sail...Benjamin, Braulio, Chris, Kenji, Rebekka, and I. We raised one totora sail. The wind took us toward Suriqui, not the direction we wanted to go. It was already late, and the sun was starting to go down. We were going to try to reach Suriqui and stay there for the night. This is where the limitations of the boat became very obvious. For every meter we went forward, we went about 5 meters sideways. This is why you have center boards or dagger boards. This was a very integral part of our design that I had discussed with Paulino and his team since the first week in June. Yet for some unknown reason Paulino neglected this ultra critical part of the boat.

On Monday as night fell, we were slipping past Suriqui. We were sliding too much and as a storm approached, it became obvious that we were going to miss Suriqui as well. Now we were in danger of going into Peru. Rain fell upon us as lightening cracked around us. There was a black island off to our left that we had a chance of reaching. But we did not know what waited before us. Would we find rocks to crash upon, or would we be able to gently sail to the shore?

As the island approached closer, our fears were relieved as the boat sailed into a sea of totora reeds. Our boat came to rest gently. The storm grew worse and the wind must have gusted as much as 40 knots. We sheltered down for the night, hoping the storm would pass soon.

Early the next morning, at the crack of dawn, the storm had passed. We survived the night, relatively dry. It took everyone of us about 20 minutes of pushing with the oars to release the boat from the reeds. Once again we were going to try and reach Suriqui where we could make some critical revisions to the boat in order to sail straighter. The wind was not in our favour, so we had to leave the sail down and use the oars to paddle. Again, for every meter we went forward, we went several meters to the side. Now we missed Suriqui again, and ended up on an island just to the South East. It was obvious that this boat would not make the trip as unfinished as it was.

Braulio passed a note to a fisherman in a small sailboat headed for Suriqui. It was a request for someone to come in a motor boat to tow us to Suriqui. As we waited for the boat Kenji, Rebekka and I took a swim in the icy waters of Lake Titicaca. It was refreshing to the say the least, and definitely revived us after an extremely frustrating night.

The boat arrived and towed us to the North East corner of Suriqui where we tied up to make some necessary changes. Braulio attached a second ore. Still we had no dagger boards. Braulio recommended that I buy the textile sails on the island. These are sails that I have already paid Paulino´s son for once but had not received. I had a problem with that, even though I knew these sails would be important in taking us through the Straights of Tiquina.

By the time night came, not much was done to the boat. Braulio and Benjamin approached me about money. They wanted to get paid for their trip with us. I had always known that they would come along, but I had always thought that it was part of the project. I had always thought that they shared a pride in the project. But I was quickly being proven wrong. It is simply about money for all the builders of the boat. I told them again that everybody else on the project were volunteers, including myself. None of us were getting paid for it. I also reminded them that we were doing this because we were interested in their heritage, their past, their ancient technology. Even so I offered them $100 each to finish the project. They said it was too little. I offered them $150 each. They said they wanted $300 hundred each.

About that time I received a phone call on my cellular. Someone had just been at Paulino´s, the boat builder. He just finished ranting about how this boat could never sail to Copacabana, it was not made to. He also said that it would not carry such a large stone. He specifically attacked me stating that I did not know how to sail this boat and that I had nothing in my head. My obvious, understated concern is "why"? Paulino knew from the very first day what we were trying to do. This is what we designed this boat for. Why did he take our money and help design and build this boat for this very reason if he did not believe it would work? It is all about the money for him.

I was more than a little furious. As a matter of fact, it is the maddest I have been in years, and it showed. I told Braulio and Benjamin exactly what was said, and exactly how I felt. I told them that I hoped they did not feel the same way as Paulino. I again told them I would pay them to continue the trip, but not $300 each. I told them that we could discuss the amount the next morning at 7:00 am. I told them that I would leave with or without them at 7:00 am and that if they were still interested in the project, they should be there promptly.

Tuesday night Kenji and I slept on the boat. We woke up at 6:30 am. There was no sign of Braulio and Benjamin. Kenji and I readied the boat for launch. At 7:00 there was no sign of Braulio and Benjamin. That previous night as Kenji and I spoke of everything that had just transpired, I knew they would not be joining us. This project never meant anything to them accept money. It hurt me to discover that the family I had spent 3 months working with on our project never believed the project could be done in the first place. I still believe. So do the other volunteers working on this project. Rebekka, Kenji, Alexei, and Chris are eager to show that it can be done.

This morning, Wednesday, August 28, as Kenji and I were adrift away from Suriqui, continuing to work on the boat to make it perform better, a small motor boat approached us. It was 2 of Paulino´s sons, Perfirio and Karate, bringing the 2 textile sails that we were supposed to have 2 days ago. In reality 1 was a sail, the other was an old drop cloth with paint and writing all over it. It was an insult. The one good one was actually made too big for our masts. I let them raise it anyway. As they raised the one sail, Kenji and I worked to correct the rudders that Braulio again put on incorrectly the night before. They were simply not deep enough in the water to correctly steer the boat.

Finally, for the first time in 3 days we were really under sail. We got close to half way to the Tiquina before the wind died. Kenji and I tried to paddle with the oars for about an hour while Paulino´s sons watched. As the wind started to blow against us, Kenji and I decided to drop anchor and simply wait for the appropriate wind. Paulino´s sons advised us to get towed to Tiquina by a motor boat and continue from there. I said no. They advised me that both Thor Heyerdahl and Kitin Muñoz both were towed frequently when the cameras were not on. Again the reality of their lack of understanding and belief in the project became all too apparent. As they left our boat, I was happy to see them go.

I am a sailor, not a boat builder. I trusted their abilities too much as boat builders. The hull of this boat is amazing...simply amazing! This boat only drafts about 15-18 inches, even though it weighs about 12 tons. It is sad the rest of the boat was not completed with the same precision. I have a very enthusiastic group of volunteers more eager than ever to make this successful especially considering the reality of the boat builders. It will take us longer than we expected but we still believe it possible. It is a shame that the very people whose heritage we are trying to honour do not believe.