A Spanish sailor has set off on his third attempt to cross an Ocean, this time the Atlantic Ocean, in a boat made of reeds. Kitin Munoz, who is attempting to prove his theory that Spanish sailors reached South America before Christopher Columbus, set off from Spain with an eight-man crew bound for the Colombian city of Cartagena de Indias.

His vessel, Mata Rangi III, was constructed by South American Aymara Indians from local reeds using only traditional methods of construction (no nails or screws). Munoz’s two previous attempts at crossing an ocean, in 1998 and 1999, in a reed boat were across the Pacific Ocean, from the Americas to Asia. Both attempts failed when his boats fell apart at sea.

Munoz agrees that it is a risky expedition, but that he is prepared with medicine and a satellite telephone. Their ETA at Cartagena de Indias is in about six weeks time. Yes, it does sound rather like Moses in his reed crib floating down the Nile, but then again, if he were Moses surely he could simply part the sea!