Vital Alsar
Encyclopedia
Vital Alsar Ramirez was born on August 7, 1933, in "Calle Alta" in Santander, Cantabria
, Spain
.
His entire life has been linked to nature and the sea. He became professor of economics, although he never acted as such.
While in the military in Morocco, he read a book about the Kon-Tiki
, the expedition that Thor Heyerdahl
conducted on a raft on the Pacific. Reading this account led to his interest in duplicating the feat.
After his military service, he lived in France
, Stuttgart
, Hamburg
, and Canada
. It was in Canada where he met Marc Modena, who would be his traveling companion.
and Australia
. This journey was cut short by a severe teredo
worm attack in the wood of his raft. The raft sank after 143 days of navigation.
, Ecuador
and reached the coast of Ballina
, Australia
after 179 days at sea.
The Cantabrian navigator Vital Alsar, aboard the Trimaran Zamná - God of the arts and the knowledge- is in the heat of transatlantic passage that left from the island of Cozumel, in the Mexican Caribbean, and will finalize in the Port of Pireo in Greece. They will be 15000 nautical miles (27,780 km) those that it will confront, to its 75 years, the adventurous veteran, moved with the eagerness to transfer to the world a message of peace of the American indigenous towns. They will be 27 ports by which the ship saturates through its day's work. The operative center is located in the city of Santander, Spain and the arrival to its beautiful bay for next the 27 of September is expected.
The nobody best one than own the Vital Alsar so that it sets out the essence to us of this new adventure: “I come to give the "marine tin" with this new trip that, like that I have undertaken, they try to take a little romance, science, culture, history and, mainly, peace”. There is no storm that restrains the Cantabrian men... " I have never seen anything else than war throughout my life". For that reason the challenge has seted out “to see wave the flag of The peace, if not in the masts, at least in the hearts of people”.
In the operative center the special station EH1PAZ (PAZ mean PEACE) has been qualified that will make the pursuit daily of the boat. This special station will be operative in the HF bands the time that lasts the entrusted pursuit.
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
His entire life has been linked to nature and the sea. He became professor of economics, although he never acted as such.
While in the military in Morocco, he read a book about the Kon-Tiki
Kon-Tiki
Kon-Tiki was the raft used by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl in his 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands. It was named after the Inca sun god, Viracocha, for whom "Kon-Tiki" was said to be an old name...
, the expedition that Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands...
conducted on a raft on the Pacific. Reading this account led to his interest in duplicating the feat.
After his military service, he lived in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was in Canada where he met Marc Modena, who would be his traveling companion.
Ecuador to Australia,The Pacific
His first adventure took place in 1966. The day after his wedding, he boarded a simple raft, La Pacífica, intended to cover the route between EcuadorEcuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. This journey was cut short by a severe teredo
Teredo
Teredo may refer to:* Teredo , a genus of shipworm that bores holes in the wood of ships** Teredo portoricensis, a species of shipworm in the Teredo genus* Teredo wood, a form of fossilized wood showing marks of shipworm damage...
worm attack in the wood of his raft. The raft sank after 143 days of navigation.
Ecuador to Australia, La Balsa
He made a second attempt in 1970 on a new raft, La Balsa. This expedition was successful, and ended at the Australian port of Mooloolaba. The trip lasted 161 days and covered 8565 miles (13,784 km). Many attributed its success to chance.Ecuador to Australia, Las Balsas
Alsar repeated the feat three years later. This third attempt consisted of three rafts. The rafts launched from GuayaquilGuayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and reached the coast of Ballina
Ballina, New South Wales
Ballina is a town on the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire Local Government Area. It had a population of 16,477 in the 2006 Census.-Location:...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
after 179 days at sea.
Mexico-Spain-Mexico, Mar, hombre y paz
Vital later replaced the rafts with galleons to carry out the project "Mar, hombre y paz", which was begun in 1980. This expedition took the trapo blanco around the world on board the La Marigalante.Forthcoming expeditions
Vital Alsar currently resides in Veracruz, Mexico, and spends his time with his grandchildren and profiling a new project that aims to unite all of the marine world. The new project is called "El Niño, La Mar y La Paz". It consists of carrying a child and thirteen crew aboard a trimaran named "Zamná" (Mayan God of Knowledge). It set sail in 2009 from the Mexican island Cozumel. At each of the 27 ports it visited, it delivered a message of peace to the world and make a tribute to all mariners in history.The Cantabrian navigator Vital Alsar, aboard the Trimaran Zamná - God of the arts and the knowledge- is in the heat of transatlantic passage that left from the island of Cozumel, in the Mexican Caribbean, and will finalize in the Port of Pireo in Greece. They will be 15000 nautical miles (27,780 km) those that it will confront, to its 75 years, the adventurous veteran, moved with the eagerness to transfer to the world a message of peace of the American indigenous towns. They will be 27 ports by which the ship saturates through its day's work. The operative center is located in the city of Santander, Spain and the arrival to its beautiful bay for next the 27 of September is expected.
The nobody best one than own the Vital Alsar so that it sets out the essence to us of this new adventure: “I come to give the "marine tin" with this new trip that, like that I have undertaken, they try to take a little romance, science, culture, history and, mainly, peace”. There is no storm that restrains the Cantabrian men... " I have never seen anything else than war throughout my life". For that reason the challenge has seted out “to see wave the flag of The peace, if not in the masts, at least in the hearts of people”.
In the operative center the special station EH1PAZ (PAZ mean PEACE) has been qualified that will make the pursuit daily of the boat. This special station will be operative in the HF bands the time that lasts the entrusted pursuit.