
Winter 2006 (14.4)
Page
31
Tangaroa
Torgeir
Crew
 Torgeir
Higraff (33) Expedition Leader of Tangaroa. It was his brainchild
to repeat the oceanic voyage by balsa raft that Thor Heyerdahl
(1914-2002) made across the Pacific in 1947. Torgeir has a background
in teaching and journalism and is passionate about nature, history,
and the study of both past and present civilizations.
He likes to engage in conversation
about philosophy and politics over a glass of red wine, but he
also spend much time exploring wilderness and historical places.
Presently, he is writing a book about the expedition, which is
scheduled to come out in four Scandinavian languages - Norwegian,
Swedish, Danish and Finnish. He is married and lives in Oslo,
Norway.
 Bjarne
Krekvik (53) joined the team in December 2004. He served as captain
and was a key person for the success of the Tangaroa because
of his expedition experience and sailing background from replicas
of Viking ships.
Bjarne has a degree in agronomy
and in navigation. He served as head of security onboard. Bjarne
spends his free time on his little farm. He likes being outdoors
and listening to music. He has worked as First Officer aboard
a freighter and has taken part in several expeditions sailing
Viking ships. He is married and has two sons.
 Anders
Berg (42) has been involved with the Tangaroa project since Spring
2004. He was the first crewmember to join Torgeir. Anders served
as the photographer for the expedition and was responsible for
all filming onboard the raft.
Anders likes to spend time outdoors, especially doing alpine
skiing. And he loves music. He is married with two sons. He lives
in Torsby, Sweden, and was the only Scandinavian who was not
Norwegian. Thor Heyerdahl also took one Swede along on the Kon-Tiki
crew 60 years ago!
 Øyvin
Lauten (55) teaches building construction at Thor Heyerdahl High
School in Larvik, in southern Norway, which is the hometown where
Heyerdahl grew up. Øyvin served as "XO", Executive
Officer for the Tangaroa. He served as the captain aboard the
veteran ship Frithjof II for many years. During leisure time
on the Tangaroa, Øyvin liked to sing. On land, he sings
in theatrical performances. He is married, with two daughters
and a granddaughter. Home for Øyvin is Stavern, Norway.
 Roberto
Sala (45) came from Lima, Peru. He was the only non-Scandinavian
crewmember. He had a long career in the Peruvian navy and was
selected by them to represent South American seamanship. On board
the raft, he was responsible for astro-navigation.
Roberto turned out to be the only person on the raft who had
no conflicts with anyone during the 85 days duration at sea.
Though teambuilding is critical to such an expedition, Roberto
proved that native politeness was even more effective. He is
married and has a daughter.
 Olav
Heyerdahl (29) is the grandson of Thor Heyerdahl who made the
original expedition by balsa raft from Peru to the Polynesian
islands in 1947. As a carpenter and engineer, he was responsible
for construction and maintenance onboard. He likes to travel
and finished the second half of his engineering studies in Cape
Town, South Africa.
Olav is an enthusiastic scuba diver, which enabled him to marvel
at the unique life under the sea. In some places it was so clear
that he could see 30 meters depth. Olav is single and lives in
Oslo, Norway.
Back to the main article about
Tangaroa raft expedition
Back to Index AI 14.4
(Winter 2006)
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