RILPost - Varen Is Fijner

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Tai Ki moored at Aplichau; notice the leeboards attached t o the side of the hull. Whistling for a Weste rly Wi nd In mid June, eight men in Hong Kong were patiently waiting for a south westerly wind to set out on an epic s ix month voyage across the Pacific. Their vessel, moored at Aplichau, is a junk called Tai Ki. This is no ordinary junk. In every detail of its design it is an exact replica of a tiny clay model junk found in a tomb nea r Canton dating from the Han Dynasty 206 BC-220 AD. Project Tai Ki Pacific is the culmination of several years of research on t he part of skipper, Carl Grage and other members of the Tai Ki team. (See RIL Post September 1973). The project w ill attempt to prove that the Olnec and Chevin t ribes of Central America were descended from Chinese of the Han Dynasty who t ravelled across t he Pacific in junks made of pine and camphor wood with sa il s of bamboo matting. Archeologica l evidence for this theory has been found in Central America and Mexico; pottery and sculpture unearthed display symbols and lettering remarkably similar to Chinese work of the Han period. However evidence that Chinese of the Han Dynasty ever sailed on the open ocean has proved difficult to find. 130 The vital clue was Carl Grage's discovery that Han sa ilors used a constellation of 28 stars, proof that they travelled far from t he coasts of China. Tai Ki was originally scheduled to leave Hong Kong on 25th M ay. With only a single rattan square sa il she ca nnot beat t he w ind and t hus it is imperative t hat she leave soon after this date in order to make maximum use of certain w inds and currents. She w ill sail north to latitude 40° or 50° where a strong wind from northeast China converges w it h w inds blowing up from the South Pacific. Carl Grage hopes to maximise the effect of these w inds with a strong current w hich runs for only a short duration each year. T he current should ca rry Tai Ki across the Pacific north of Hawaii to the California coast and t hen south to the Bay of Tehuantepec at the southernmost tip of M exico. It has taken 200 days to build the 58 ft. Tai Ki as opposed to 60 or so for a modern junk. Only Chinese fi r could be used for the planking w ith bilian and teak for the frame and beams. It took four months just to locate suitable pieces of timber for The mast looks strong, but in ca spare on board. the mast and spare mast. Ch inese fir is not easy to bend and the workmen used no mechanical tools except an electric drill to bore ho les. The junk is held together by 300 wooden dowels; not a single nail or screw has been used. The dowels are made from a special hardwood which comes from the lychee tree; four such trees were purchased from the New Territories to make the dowels. Many of t he dowels broke when first inserted and often several attempts were necessary before t he craftsmen achieved a secure fit. Wherever possible the dowels were left protruding so that should they work loose, it w ill be possible to split t hem and drive in a wooden wedge. The series of bamboo huts, w hich form the superstructure and living area, also posed problems and had to be reassembled many times to strike a ba lance between authenticity and seaworthiness. The wooden hull w hic h weighs 10 tons is divided into five watertight bulkheads used mainly for storage purposes. The hull has been treated w ith Tung oil to he lp preserve the wood and keep it watertight. Two leeboards are
e it breaks there is a The sail and superstructure are built entirely of rattan and bamboo. fitted to the sides of the hull to help stabilize the vessel. The junk certainly looks solid and seaworthy and during her sea trials in May she sailed well. The voyage is estimated to take six months but nobody knows for sure how fast Tai Ki w ill sail. Below decks six months supplies for the eight man crew are stored in seven compartments. The supplies include 4 tons of fresh water which will hopefully be supplemented by rain water and 8 tons of food and equipment. Fishing tackle will be ca rried to relieve the monotony of living off tinned and preserved food. Only a small charcoal burning stove will be used for cooking. Safety measures consist of a radio, for use in emergencies only, a spare rudder and a spare mast. Because Tai Ki can only run before the wind, few navigational aids are considered necessary. Project Tai Ki Pacific is backed by the Austrian publishing company, Fritz Molden who have secured the rights to a book to be written about the expedition by a member of the Tai Ki team. They estimate the final cost to be about US$ 2 million. The square bow; notice the protruding dowels. Inside the bamboo living quarters aft of the mast. The square stern and long rudder which is shaped like a steering oar.
Page 1 and 2: RILPost Volume 21 Number 7 A monthl
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Page 18: LISLIND INTERNATIONAL JAPAN Mr Gerr

RILPost - Varen Is Fijner

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