The reed ship was created by the Aymara Indians of Bolivia, a 2,000 year-old Andean culture that sails in boats similar to those used by ancient Egyptians.

"We are trying to sail as a first across the North Atlantic on a prehistoric raft in order to prove that trans-Atlantic voyages in both directions were possible long before the advanced civilizations in the Mediterranean Sea," Dominque Gorlitz, the ship's captain, told the Reuters news agency shortly before departure.

Gorlitz, a German botanist, said he believes trade between continents began as early as 14,000 years ago.

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