8 Men and a Duck

An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

Nonfiction, Travel, Caribbean & Latin America, South America, Adventure & Literary Travel
Cover of the book 8 Men and a Duck by Nick Thorpe, Free Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nick Thorpe ISBN: 9780743233255
Publisher: Free Press Publication: November 1, 2007
Imprint: Free Press Language: English
Author: Nick Thorpe
ISBN: 9780743233255
Publisher: Free Press
Publication: November 1, 2007
Imprint: Free Press
Language: English

8 Men and a Duck charts the hilarious and unnerving Pacific voyage as it rolls between waves of high drama and high farce: from the five-day launch off a Chilean beach, to the bungled phone call that triggered a naval rescue alert, to the sad fate of Pedro the duck, to the constant race against the inexorable sinking of the soggy hull.

On a fateful South American bus trip, journalist Nick Thorpe overheard some fellow passengers discussing an improbable plan to sail 2,500 miles from northern Chile to Easter Island on the Viracocha—a boat made of reeds. The crew's aim in reviving this pre-Incan boat-building technology was twofold: to reopen the controversial migration theories of Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed his boat the Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, and to have one heck of an adventure in the process. Thorpe talked his way on board Captain Phil Buck's Viracocha only to find himself plagued by uncertainty. Why did the crew include a tree surgeon, a jewelry salesman, and two ducks? What happened to the navigator? Did anybody actually know how to sail? And, most important, where was the life raft?

Despite the best efforts of storms and sharks and fast-moving freighters, an alarming lack of sailing qualifications, and a rival explorer dogging the adventure at every turn, the crew members of the Viracocha lived to tell their extraordinary tale right through to its wickedly unexpected conclusion. Nick Thorpe's account is by turns funny, touching, and thrilling—a story of friendship, fate, and the unlikely distances people will go for real adventure.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

8 Men and a Duck charts the hilarious and unnerving Pacific voyage as it rolls between waves of high drama and high farce: from the five-day launch off a Chilean beach, to the bungled phone call that triggered a naval rescue alert, to the sad fate of Pedro the duck, to the constant race against the inexorable sinking of the soggy hull.

On a fateful South American bus trip, journalist Nick Thorpe overheard some fellow passengers discussing an improbable plan to sail 2,500 miles from northern Chile to Easter Island on the Viracocha—a boat made of reeds. The crew's aim in reviving this pre-Incan boat-building technology was twofold: to reopen the controversial migration theories of Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed his boat the Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, and to have one heck of an adventure in the process. Thorpe talked his way on board Captain Phil Buck's Viracocha only to find himself plagued by uncertainty. Why did the crew include a tree surgeon, a jewelry salesman, and two ducks? What happened to the navigator? Did anybody actually know how to sail? And, most important, where was the life raft?

Despite the best efforts of storms and sharks and fast-moving freighters, an alarming lack of sailing qualifications, and a rival explorer dogging the adventure at every turn, the crew members of the Viracocha lived to tell their extraordinary tale right through to its wickedly unexpected conclusion. Nick Thorpe's account is by turns funny, touching, and thrilling—a story of friendship, fate, and the unlikely distances people will go for real adventure.

More books from Free Press

Cover of the book A Rage for Glory by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book The Leadership Pill by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Appetite for Self-Destruction by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Marketing Places by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Made from Scratch by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book On the Origin of Tepees by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Family Mediation Practice by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Vows by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book The Responsibility Trap by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book A Random Book about the Power of ANYone by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Practice What You Preach by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Will You Take Me As I Am by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Tidal Wave by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Pig Candy by Nick Thorpe
Cover of the book Economic Principles by Nick Thorpe
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy