Adventurer makes the longest open-kayak crossing over the Atlantic
Aleksander Doba crosses the Atlantic for the third time at age 71!
This retired 71 year old mechanical engineer and kayaker from Swarzędz, Poland, has always dreamed of crossing the Atlantic ocean via kayak. Doba first crossed the Atlantic in 2010 at age 65, finally making his life long dream a reality, crossing in 99 days. This crossing made him the first person to paddle a 7 meter kayak across the Atlantic, a voyage of 5394 km.
Aleksander wasn’t completely satisfied, and proceeded to cross again two more times, once in 2013 and again this year, 2017. He finished his third crossing, the longest one totalling 4000 miles (6438 kilometers) in September of this year.
This year’s crossing took him from New Jersey to the coast of France, in Le Conquet. It was the longest of the three voyages. The last two voyages were the longest open-water kayaking voyages ever made. He is the only person to kayak from continent to continent, unassisted, under his own power.
Only three other solo kayakers have made this crossing, and he is the only one to have done this three times!
Aleksander has plenty of kayak experiences. He’s logged over 62,000 miles on the water in his 37 years of paddling, including circumnavigations of Lake Baikal (at 1200 miles) and the Baltic Sea (at 2600 miles).
The route
The route this summer took him from New Jersey to Le Conquet, France.
The Kayak
The kayak used for the journey is a specifically built, an over-engineered kayak which he named Olo. This fiberglass kayak is 23 feet long, 39 inches wide, and weighs 1600 pounds (725 kg). This is approximately less than half the weight of an average car. The kayak has a keel and superstructure, but the boat builder was concerned it would come apart anyway in rough Northern seas.
The Journey
Aleksander encountered big hurdles from the beginning, while trying to sleep in 40 knot winds and waves that were two storeys high. The anchor rigging was damaged and some of the boat anchor hardware was twisted, causing him to make slow progress for about 3 weeks. While seriously contemplating rescue, he was finally assisted by a 600 foot cargo ship bound for Central America. They took him on the boat and went to work fixing Olo, not wanting any money for fixing it. Instead, they wanted to talk Aleksander into abandoning his crossing and head home. But he refused to give up.
After a few hours on the cargo ship, including a hot meal, he was back in the water. Another bad weather incident had him in 55 knot winds and white seas, and he was blown off course, to the northeast. But he finished.
It’s not over for this adventurer, who at 71 years old still feels young. “I have 29 years to go to until I’m 100” says Doba.
After he paddled the Atlantic solo for the first time, he was voted the 2014 National Geographic’s Adventurer of the year, in the People’s Choice awards.
Aleksander is somewhat of a celebrity in Poland, and it’s no wonder. He has an unstoppable adventuring spirit, always on the go! To read more about his adventures check out his website at AleksanderDoba.pl.
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