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 Previous: FCC Suspends Carolina Ham's HF Privileges |  Next: W1AW Goes on the Road with The Tuna Tin 2 |
The raft La Mante-a under way in the Pacific. [All photos courtesy of Cameron Smith] |
PORT GOLFITO, COSTA RICA, Jul 8, 1999--A raft expedition to Hawaii ended July 1 when the raft went aground after it was towed out to sea and was destroyed. Expedition leader John Haslett, KC5KHA, of Dallas, Texas, has called off the expedition citing a lack of money and crew scheduling difficulties. The latest balsa raft, dubbed La Endurancia, had been built in Costa Rica after Hasslett's first vessel, the 50-foot balsa log raft La Mante-a, had to be scuttled.
Haslett's wife, Annie, announced the disappointing turn of events today. She said La Endurancia was to be towed approximately 20 miles out to sea by a freighter to keep the vessel away from the dangers of the coast. "Unfortunately, the tanker ran out of fuel and let the raft go only four miles from Matapalo, a very rocky shore that has been the scourge of many a ship," she said. "After a night of heavy storms, the raft was forced onto the rocky reef and was destroyed."
Haslett's La Mante-a fell victim to sea worms and storms during the first leg of the educational and research venture. It also had become trapped in the gyre--a large ocean whirlpool--and literally was going in circles under its influence. The vessel, first launched last October, was attempting to retrace the trading routes of ancient Ecuadorian mariners by sailing from Ecuador up the Central American coast to Mexico. After the voyage ran into problems, it had to be scuttled in the Pacific some 160 miles southwest of Costa Rica.
John Haslett, KC5KHA |
Some components of the original vessel were used to build La Endurancia.
Aboard the Mante-a, Haslett had been maintaining Amateur Radio schedules with schools and other groups in the US and around the world on 20 meter SSB. Jim Wilmerding, W2EMT, in Maine was coordinating a school contact schedule. The expedition also has been using Amateur Radio for routine communication with the mainland. In 1993, Haslett built a 20-ton balsa raft Illa Tiki in Ecuador, then traveled some 750 nautical miles aboard it (see "The Illa Tiki Expedition" QST, Feb 1996, page 28). It, too, was plagued by shipworms.
John Haslett built La Mante-a in Salongo, Ecuador, where he also had constructed the Illa Tiki several years earlier. Annie Haslett said she expected her husband to return to Texas by week's end. John Haslett plans to write a book on the adventure.
For more information, visit the Mante-o Expedition Web site, http://www.balsaraft.com/.
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