La Zattera del SƎSS0: Un Esperimento Finito MALISSIMO

Overview

In May 1973, anthropologist Santiago Genovés Tarazaga (often referred to as Henoves/Genoves) launched what he called “Project Peace”—later sensationalized in the media as “the sex raft.”

The expedition used a purpose-built raft, “Cali” (meaning “house on the water”), to test a hypothesis: that confined space plus an engineered crisis would trigger human aggression. Genovés drew an analogy to lab animal studies where aggression rises under overcrowding.

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The experiment’s design: engineered conflict

Genovés believed authentic human behavior appears only during real danger. So he designed a tightly controlled environment:

• 11 strangers placed together on a small steel raft
• No engine, no electricity, and limited escape options
• No books
• One exposed “bathroom” (a hole over the ocean)
• Alcohol-heavy conditions

The cabin forced sleep side-by-side, with intentional pairing/spacing meant to increase forced contact.

He also selected participants not only for survival/technical criteria and romantic status, but for hidden factors likely to generate tension, such as mixing people with historical or political hostility (e.g., Black and white Americans, Arab and Israeli participants, opposing religions, etc.).

A particularly provocative inclusion was a celibate Catholic priest, framed by Genovés as a “wild card” meant to trigger guilt/shame dynamics.

Finally, women were placed in key leadership and technical roles—captain, medicine, diving, navigation, radio—as part of a test of whether female leadership would reduce or increase violence.

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Early “failure”: harmony instead of aggression

For much of the voyage, the crew behaved more cooperatively than Genovés expected:

• They organized routines
• Collaborated on tasks like guarding and fishing
• Filled idle time with stories, singing, and social bonding

Instead of erupting into violence, it felt closer to a camp than an apocalyptic test. Genovés was deeply frustrated because the results contradicted his theory and threatened his scientific credibility.

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Genovés sabotages his own study

Instead of observing aggression, Genovés allegedly tried to manufacture it.

Reported tactics included:

• Large numbers of questionnaires, repeated and increasingly personal
• Publicly reading answers aloud, violating promises of confidentiality
• “Truth games” that pressured participants to disclose intimate sexual preferences and irritations in front of everyone
• Humiliation tactics and minor provocations

He also admitted in his report to having an ongoing sexual relationship during the crossing, raising major ethical concerns—especially given his control over safety, data, and decisions.

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The only “violent” moment: a shark incident—more absurd than apocalyptic

The experiment’s most famous expected “proof” was a shark attack leading to primal violence. A crew member (José Maria Montero) struck a shark with an axe and eventually tore out its still-beating heart.

However, the account emphasizes that subtitles and footage suggest the scene was clumsy and ineffective, and that witnesses later described it more as fascination/curiosity than uncontrolled violence.

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Real danger produces cooperation, not aggression

Two genuine danger events occurred:

1. A steering/rudder blade incident
2. A severe jellyfish sting to the diver

In both cases, the crew coordinated effectively—contradicting Genovés’s theory. Instead of fighting, danger triggered teamwork.

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The “third act” crisis: mutiny during a hurricane

During the Caribbean hurricane season, captain Maria Bjornstam ordered immediate shelter and ended the experiment.

Genovés refused and staged a “single-handed mutiny”, declaring himself commander and bypassing her authority. Even though the hurricane did not heavily damage the raft, it shattered trust.

Afterward, crew members reportedly seriously discussed killing Genovés (e.g., pushing him overboard or drugging him), but ultimately chose not to. This is framed as the experiment’s most tangible evidence of group cohesion under extreme pressure.

Later, after another near-collision with a larger ship, Bjornstam reassumed command and prevented disaster. Genovés withdrew, and the group reportedly became even more cohesive without his interference.

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“Scientific result” vs. what the behavior actually showed

Genovés published conclusions claiming that under extreme stress people become more “authentic,” and that friction came more from competition for power than ethnic or religious differences. He also argued:

• men and women adapted similarly
• sexual relations did not destroy group dynamics

Ironically, the account stresses that the documented outcomes contradict the central aggression hypothesis:

• the crew largely collaborated
• the most serious threats to safety came from Genovés’s own sabotage and abuse of authority

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Media distortion: the raft turned into a tabloid “sex” narrative

International press tracked the voyage via sporadic radio updates, but headlines emphasized sexuality rather than cooperation. After the voyage, relatives absorbed the tabloid framing, believing participants were engaged in orgies, which fueled misunderstandings.

The “sex raft” label persisted far more than any nuanced findings about solidarity.

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Afterlife of the story: The Raft documentary

Decades later, Swedish director Marcus Linden spent years locating surviving participants, helped by the fact that Genovés had assigned pseudonyms.

He reunited seven survivors (six women and only one surviving man) and filmed them on a reconstruction of the raft in a 2018 documentary titled The Raft.

The video frames the experiment as an early ancestor of later reality TV formats (e.g., Big Brother/Love Island), due to staged intimacy, constant observation, and forced disclosure—without the modern comfort/safety framing.

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Presenters/Contributors

• Santiago Genovés Tarazaga (anthropologist who designed and ran the experiment; discussed as “Henoves/Genoves”)
• Maria Bjornstam (Swedish captain of the raft)
• Edna (Czechoslovakian Jewish doctor living in Israel; survivor mentioned)
• Servan Zanotti (French diver involved in pollution study)
• Rashida (Algerian participant described as central to selection dynamics)
• Fe Evanghelina Simur (radio operator; only black woman on the crew)
• José Maria Montero (Uruguayan anthropologist; struck the shark)
• Charles Antoni (Cypriot radio operator)
• Isuke (Eiso) Yamaki / Eiso Yamaki (Japanese photographer)
• Bernardo Bongo (Angolan Catholic priest)
• The video narrator/host (speaker for the channel; references “my episode,” “Beyond Ordinary Borders,” and sponsorship reads; no personal name given in subtitles)
• Marcus Linden (director of the 2018 documentary The Raft)
• Philip Zimbardo (referenced for the Stanford prison experiment)
• Thor Heyerdahl and the crews of Ra / Ra II (referenced as prior expeditions influencing the raft concept)