It is a feat that Aleksander Doba, known as "Olek", a kayaking adventurer and former mechanical engineer, has just accomplished at the age of 70. He left New York on May 16 and has just travelled 4,150 miles (7,700 km) to reach Europe. While he was originally scheduled to arrive in Lisbon, Portugal, the winds decided otherwise, pushing him towards France. After two final days of drifting towards the Pointe Finistère - the most difficult of his transatlantic crossing due to strong currents and dense maritime traffic - Aleksander Doba finally reached the Conquet this Sunday 3rd September at 12:45 pm (French time).
Exhausted, relieved of 10 kilos, he nevertheless managed to complete his 3 e transatlantic in 7 years in a kayak, an unsinkable boat of 750 km loaded (450 kg empty). Feeding on freeze-dried food, it will have gone through 4 big storms and broken its rudder, repaired with the help of a nearby boat.
Three navigations in 7 years
In October 2010, he launched his first transatlantic kayak race, linking Dakar, Senegal to Acarau, Brazil. A crossing completed in 98 days and 23 hours, making him the first man to cross the Atlantic in a single kayak. A crossing made before him by the Frenchman Gérard d'Aboville, in 1980, in a rowing boat.
He will repeat the experience in October 2013, this time linking Lisbon, Portugal, to Port Canaveral, Florida (April 2014).
In fact, in 2015, he will receive the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Award.
