 Captain
Norman Baker was the second-in-command, radioman, and
celestial navigator for legendary anthropologist Thor
Heyerdahl on all three of his reed boat expeditions,
the two RA voyages and the Tigris. Here are just a few
highlights from his life so far.
Captain Baker met Thor Heyerdahl in Tahiti after a lifetime
of adventure. Mr Baker began flying lessons at the age
of 13 and flew his first solo at 17. After graduating
from Cornell with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree,
Norman’s first job was in the gold mines of Alaska,
initially as a laborer and later as an engineer. His
second job was in the desert country of Colorado and
New Mexico where he staked out that last state boundary
in the nation that had never before been surveyed.
He served two and a half years in the Korean War on
a destroyer.
After
the war Mr. Baker earned a commercial multiengine pilot
license, but instead of flying airlines, he sailed the
Trans-Pacific Yacht Race as a deck hand, rising to first
mate and finally professional captain of the ship. He
sailed her from Honolulu to Seattle for the owner. He
learned to scuba dive while working as underwater assistant
and celestial navigator for a marine biologist on a
research expedition that started in Hawaii and finished
in the South Pacific islands. It was here he and Dr.
Heyerdahl met.
Mr. Baker returned to New York where he started a construction
company with his brother, also a Professional Civil
Engineer. That same year he took up skydiving.
Dr. Baker is a Fellow and Ex-Director of the Explorers
Club.
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