Media conference with s, La Balsa expedition crew members, Media Conference, November, 1970

The La Balsa expedition lasted 160 days, starting in Ecuador on May 29, 1970, and ended at Mooloolaba in Australia on November 5, 1970. The voyage was to be from Guayaquil in Ecuador. Alsar had recruited Marc Modena, a Frenchman and Norman Tetreault a Canadian, and with work already begun, they were later joined by Chilean student Gabriel Salas. The crew was also joined by a stowaway cat named Minet, whom they called the "fifth crew member." The 8,600 mile (13,800 km), voyage was, at the time, the longest in known history. Following the expedition, the raft was taken on a road tour of Australia, being displayed in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, before being shipped to Spain.