Acali

The Acali was a raft which was used in the Acali Expedition or Acali Experiment.[1] The raft had a complement of eleven people: five men and six women. It left Las Palmas, Spain on 12 May 1973 and took 101 days to drift across the Atlantic Ocean and reach Cozumel, Mexico, with a single stopover in Barbados. The experiment was conceived by Mexican anthropologist Santiago Genovés (who had previously been a crew member of Thor Heyerdahl's Ra expedition) to investigate interpersonal relationships in conditions of limited space and social isolation.[2][3][4] The participants showed a restraint towards aggression which created frustration within Genovés and led him to start to try and create conflict. And at one point he took command of the float. However, although these attempts were made the group remained peaceful.[5]

The raft

The name of the raft, Acali, comes from the Nahuatl language and means "the house on the water".[6][7]

The raft was built specifically for the experiment. It had a steel hull and dimensions of 12m x 7m. The cabin measured 4 x 3.9 metres in area and 1.4 metres in height. It was designed by José Antonio Mandri and Colin Mudie, and built in Newcastle, UK.[8]

Participants
  • Santiago Genovés Tarazaga (47 years old male), Mexican anthropologist who devised the experiment.
  • José María Montero Pérez (34 years old male), Uruguayan anthropologist and former student of Genovés.
  • Servante Zanotti (32 years old female), French, responsible for conducting a study on pollution, scuba diver.
  • Charles Anthony (37 years old male), Greek Cypriot, radio operator.
  • Rachida Mazani (23 years old female), Algerian, responsible for conducting a study on pollution.
  • Mary Gidley (36 years old female), American, with some knowledge of navigation.
  • Fé Evangelina Seymour (23 years old female), American, radio operator.
  • Maria Björnstam (30 years old female), captain of the expedition, Swedish.
  • Edna Jonas (32 years old female), a Czechoslovak resident in Israel, doctor.
  • Bernardo Bongo (29 years old male), Angolan priest.
  • Eisuki Yamaki (29 years old male), Japanese, cameraman.

References
  1. Storyville: The Raft, BBC4, 2 Jun 2019
  2. The Acali Experiment: Five Men And Six Women On A Raft Across The Atlantic For 101 Days, by Santiago Genoves
  3. Jeffries, Stuart (14 Jan 2019). "Mutiny on the Sex Raft: how a 70s science project descended into violent chaos". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  4. Mangan, Lucy (2 June 2019). "Storyville: The Raft review – almost too deliciously ludicrous to be true". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  5. https://www.svtplay.se/video/23019602/flotten?info=visa
  6. Balsa Acali: 100 días de convivencia en el mar hemeroteca.sevilla.abc.es, accessed 7 November 2019
  7. "New Transdisciplinary Visualities As an Alternative to Redistribute the Power of Thought", by Maris Bustamante, Social Justice 2006, 33(2), 165-170
  8. Experimento Acali: Viaje a las entrañas de la violencia armandorubenpuente.com, accessed 7 November 2019
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