Aleksander Doba

Aleksander Doba (born 9 September 1946) is a Polish kayaker known primarily for his long voyages crossing oceans. In 2010 and again in 2013 he kayaked across the Atlantic Ocean westward under his own power. The two voyages were the longest open-water kayak voyages ever made. He was named 2014 Adventurer of the Year by National Geographic.[1] In 2017 he completed an eastward kayaking trip across the Atlantic.[2]

Aleksander Doba at the Polish Woodstock 2015
Sea kayak used by Doba for his 2010 Atlantic crossing

Kayaking

Doba was the first person to paddle a 7 meter sea kayak across the Atlantic ocean, a voyage that spanned 5394 kilometers.[3][4] Doba's first voyage from Senegal to Brazil in 2010 set a record for the longest open-water crossing ever undertaken by a kayaker, at roughly 99 days. He was 65 years old when he undertook this journey. (The previous longest kayak crossing belonged to Peter Bray, which took over 76 days in 2001, who traveled from Newfoundland to Ireland.) While Transatlantic kayak crossings have been achieved before, Doba was the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean relying on muscle-power alone, without the help of a sail.[5] Doba's journey started at 15:30 Polish time[6] on 26 October 2010 in Dakar, Africa, and ended when he reached Brazil, touching dry land at 10:12 local time for the first time in 98 days, 23 hours, and 42 min. He then reached Acaraú at 17:50 local time (99 days, 6 h, 20 min).[7] His mean speed was 2.26 km/h, and he averaged 54 km per 24 hours, with a maximum 24‑hour distance of 126.5 km.[3] When he arrived in Brazil he weighed 64 kg. He lost 14 kg in 14 weeks of the journey.[6]

After resting there, he planned to paddle 6,000 kilometers north along the shorelines of the Americas to Washington, D.C..

He was attacked and robbed when paddling in his transatlantic kayak from Peru to Brazil on the Amazon river about 20 km from Coari in Brazil.[8][9]

In October 5, 2013, at age 67, he departed from Lisbon (Portugal) for a second transatlantic voyage, with the intention of paddling 5,400 miles across the Atlantic's widest point. He arrived at New Smyrna Beach, Florida on April 19, 2014. The voyage took him 196 days to complete, and he paddled 6,300 miles.[10]

Doba has also paddled in a kayak with others around the Baltic Sea (in 1999, 80 days, 4227 km), from Police to Narvik (in 2000, 101 days, 5369 km) and around Lake Baikal (in 2009, 41 days, 2000 km).[11][12] He has also jumped 14 times with parachute, piloted gliders for a total of 250 hours, and practiced cycling. He holds a marine yacht skipper certificate.[11]

On September 3, 2017, Doba completed his third solo trans-Atlantic kayak trip when he kayaked into a port in Le Conquet, France from Barnegat Bay in May 2017.[13] He was at sea for 110 consecutive days.[13] He used a 23-foot kayak, weighing 1500 pounds when fully loaded. During the trip, he struggled against storms; his rudder was damaged and had to be repaired by sailors from a merchant vessel.[2]

Personal life

Aleksander Doba was born 9 September 1946 in Swarzędz, and now lives in Police near Szczecin, Poland.[13]

Polish "The Mole"

In 2019 he participated in Polish version of "The Mole" (Agent - Gwiazdy), he has been eliminated in 3rd episode and came on 11th place.

References
  1. "People's Choice Adventurer of the Year". National Geographic. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  2. "Aleksander Doba Completes His Third Atlantic Crossing in a Kayak". Canoe & Kayak Magazine. 2017-09-06.
  3. "Aleksander Doba". Aleksander Doba. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  4. Bs (3 February 2011). "Transatlantic Kayak Crossing: Success". transatlantic2010.blogspot.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  5. "Landfall: Aleksander Doba Reaches South America - Canoe & Kayak Magazine". canoekayak.com. 2 February 2011. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  6. "Aleksander Doba". Aleksander Doba. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  7. "Start". aleksanderdoba.pl. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  8. "Wiadomości z ostatniej chwili - Alert24 - Gazeta.pl". gazetapl. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  9. Administrator. "Relacja Olka z etapu Brazylia - Peru 11-07-11". aleksanderdoba.pl. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  10. "Aleksander Doba, Adventurers of the Year 2014/2015 - National Geographic". nationalgeographic.com. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  11. "Arsoba Travel:: sztuka podróżowania - Kajakiem DOOKOŁA BAJKAŁU w pojedynkę :: lato 2009". www.arsobatravel.pl. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  12. "65 year-old sails Atlantic in kayak". thenews.pl. Polskie Radio. February 3, 2011.
  13. Weil, Elizabeth (2018-03-22). "Why He Kayaked Across the Atlantic at 70 (for the Third Time)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
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