Quick Book Review

Bill Zeitler (WZeitler@compuserve.com)
Tue, 5 Jan 1999 13:32:41 -0500


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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Book titled : "Tai Ki...To The Point of No Return " copyright 1979
Author Kuno Knobl [ with an umlaut over the " o" in "Knobl"]
( was originally published in German..translation now in my Delaware
library in English by Kimber ]

True story of a unusual [ unlikely ] " crew " of guys trying to prove the
opposite of Kon Tiki. These chaps are trying to prove that about 1500
years before Columbus came over here....Chinese sailed [ drifted ] in a
junk-type boat on the Japan Stream and Northwest Drift Currents from Asia
to North America and Mexico. . They find a 15 inch clay museum model
of junk dug up from an ancient tomb and scale it up to build a 64 LOA, 31
ton replica junk...built and rigged with 1000 year old guestimated
technology. They get about half way from Hong Kong to San Francisco and
they have to be rescued because tereos " worms " eat unplugable holes in
the hull and the ship begins to sink.

LOA of Tai Ki 64 ft.
WLL 42 ft
Draft 3 ft.
Beam 20 ft
Mast ht. above deck 52 feet
Sail material woven rattan mats
Sail Area 1,188 sq. ft.
Water Displacement 31 tons

Come-on warm spring weather !!!

Bill Zeitler
Potterer at heart
Wilmington, DE