Vital Alsar

Vital Alsar Ramírez (August 7, 1933 – September 15, 2020) was a sailor and scientist who made several extremely long sailing expeditions.

During his Military service in Morocco, Alsar read a book about the Kon-Tiki, the expedition that Thor Heyerdahl conducted in a balsa raft on the Pacific.

Reading this account led to his interest in duplicating the feat, to sailing 3,770 nautical miles (6,980 km; 4,340 mi).

The voyage was cut short by damage caused by teredo worms in the wood of his raft, which sank after 143 days—Alsar being rescued by a German ship.

[4][5] Alsar resided in Veracruz, Mexico, and spent his time with his grandchildren and profiling a new project aiming to unite all of the marine world.