ABORA II - ship construction up high in the Andes of South America

The construction of the ship began in the summer of 2001 on the hotel grounds of Crillon Tours in Bolivia which is located right at the shore of the Titicaca Lake. Under the conduct of Dominique Görlitz the Aymara Indians built a reed boat which measured 12 meters in length and 4.4 meters in width during August and September. They used the same method like the Egypt-Mesopotamian reed boat builders. In doing so they tied up 6 tons of Tortora reed to a massive twin-hulled boat similar to a modern catamaran. In the winter 2001/02 the grand body was transported around half the world: from the highest mountains of America across the Atlantic ocean to Alexandria in Egypt. During the stay in Alexandria the project team followed the invitation to join the opening ceremony of the rebuilt Royal library with the Abora II. The work on the ship was continued and the boat builder constructed all superstructures after the prehistoric model. Despite of a lot of difficulties like the trouble with the Egypt customs the ship could be launched on April 18, 2002. Again it was named after the old Canarian goodess Abora who was worshipped on the step pyramids in Egypt, on Sardinia, and on the Canaries in the middle of the Atlantic. The celebration mood after the launching ceremony didn’t last long because Thor Heyerdahl passed away in the very same minutes. The death of the famous seafaring researcher whom Dominique Görlitz had a close connection with was a big loss. Yet it imposed the obligation to prove with the help of the Abora II that highly developed seafaring already existed in the antiquity.

ABORA II - like pre-Egypt seamen against the wind

On May 17, 2002 Abora II started her adventurous journey in Alexandria. She was supposed to sail in the big triangle of the Mediterranean Sea Egypt- Lebanon-Asia Minor. Bureaucratic problems with the Egypt marine agency however delayed the start of the expedition for three weeks. Because of that and the time limit of the expedition it was clear from the very beginning of the voyage that an expansion of the route to the Greek isles was not possible. The reed boat was constructed after the predynastic model of the Negade I-III culture. In contrast to Thor Heyerdahls constructions leeboards were attached to exactly predefined positions on the bow and the rear. These leeboards have two functions: they don’t only reduce the leeway but they also relocate the lateral pressure point (the pivot of the boat under water) in front of the sailing pressure point (place, where the wind power puts on over water). These physical effects make it possible that even a carinaless reed float can sail with the wind without “engine power”. The proof of the ability to sail against the wind was the main goal of the Abora II expedition. Without this ability regular trade and cultural exchange on the Mediterranean Sea with its difficult climate would have been unthinkable. The author came up with the idea for the leeboard sailing technique when he studies predynastic ship images in Upper Egypt. A multitude of these ship images indicate that in the prehistoric times the Nile residents went on longer distance journeys on the sea that we generally suppose today. For the first time in the modern ages an early ship type was supposed to perform a predefined round trip across the sea to prove the complete maneuverability of ancient square-riggers experimentally. The sailed courses proved the hypothesis of the project right. With the streaming and favorable wind forces, Abora II sailed up to 70° against the wind. In front of the coast of Africa she was even able to tack which is a maritime ability that the majority of seafaring experts think is not manageable with ships from the stone ages.

Die ABORA II sailed in the cultural triangle Egypt, Lebanon and Cyprus

On the early afternoon of July 21, 2002, Abora II sailed back into the East harbor of Alexandria. Altogether 1,164 sea miles lied behind the crew which had lived on a narrow space on the swimming reed isle and worked together for more than 65 days. In respect of their experiences along the given route with constantly changing weather conditions it can be considered very probable that people already went on long journeys on the Mediterranean Sea before the invention of seaworthy wooden ships and that they already were involved in a close cultural exchange. With enough time Abora II would have been able to sail everywhere in the Mediterranean Sea. These results proved the critics of Heyerdahl’s RA II expedition wrong who argued that one could have never reached the Atlantic ocean from the Mediterranean Sea with an Egypt papyrus boat. Because of the experiences from the project even the journey back along the North route from America across the Atlantic to Europe seems possible today. This route along the Gulf Stream is considered impassable for prehistoric sailors due to the changing winds and the much weaker streaming. However, new geobotanical evidence as well as pre –ice age wall paintings like those from the Cueva del Castillo in Spain provide clues for such transatlantic trade relations. Above all, the journey of the Abora II proved that sailing sports, sciences, and team work can form a symbiotic relationship to answer up to now unsolved questions of the archaeology.