Sailing legend Vital Alsar’s Rolex watch to be auctioned

A rare Rolex watch that was worn by maritime legend Vital Alsar as he explored the Atlantic and South America in 1977 is set to go under the hammer.

The stainless steel Rolex GMT Master wristwatch, which has a red and blue bezel, is expected to fetch up to £18,000 at auction in Shrewsbury.

It was gifted to the Spanish pioneer for his well-documented oceanic expeditions in the 1960s and 1970s.

The watch is being sold at Halls Fine Art on 6 March.

Born in Santander, Spain in 1933, Vital Alsar Ramirez studied economics and began his career working in Europe and Canada.

He was fascinated by early oceanic exploration and was inspired by Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 crossing of the Pacific between South America and Polynesia on a primitive raft called the Kon-Tiki.

In 1966, Alsar set off on his first Pacific crossing from Ecuador using a raft constructed from balsa wood but was shipwrecked after only 90 days.

His next attempt, in 1970, on a similar raft, called La Balsa, successfully saw him reach Mooloolaba in Australia after 163 days at sea, having travelled over 8,500 nautical miles.

He led a further successful mission in 1973, this time on three rafts. Then in 1977, he built three small brigs in Guayaquil which he and his crew sailed down the Amazon river before crossing the Atlantic to reach Santander, a distance of 11,000 nautical miles.

The seaman and explorer died in September 2020 at the age of 87.

Alexander Clement, Halls Fine Art's watch specialist, said: "Vital favoured the GMT Master watch because it was designed to allow up to three time zones to be read simultaneously and was an indispensable navigational tool for him."

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