Eight Men And A Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

Description

Nick Thorpe was innocently travelling around South America with his girlfriend, Ali, when he came across an American adventurer planning to sail from Chile to Easter Island on a Bolivian boat made of reeds. Inspired by the great Thor Heyerdahl, Buck had recruited seven men to join him on this experiment to discover whether it might have been possible that Polynesia was first settled from South America rather than Asia. But when one of them dropped out a place in the crew became available for Nick. What followed was a somewhat bizarre expedition undertaken by a rather makeshift vessel, a couple of ducks (one of which could have only guessed at its fate) and a group of men, who, when all was said and done, weren't quite sure how to sail a boat. "Eight Men and a Duck" is a tale of storms, amateur seamen and the occasional shark.

Nick Thorpe, an experienced British journalist based in Edinburgh, spent 14 months in 1999/2000 travelling through South America He writes for a variety of national newspapers and is a contributor to the BBC World Service 'Outlook' programme. This is his first book.

* Thorpe's imagery is exquisite (and) the account of Viracocha's voyage is so funny. If you enjoy chuckling during your armchair travels, my advice is: Rush and Reed' - Tim Severin ** 'Thorpe is an accomplished storyteller. He chronicles the voyage of the Viracocha with an easy, unforced humour. Thoroughly entertaining' - Daily Telegraph