14.4 - Tangaroa - Torgeir Crew

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.

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