Aleksander Doba 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. In 2017 he completed an eastward kayaking trip across the Atlantic.
Kayaking
Doba was the first person to paddle a 7 meter sea kayak across the Atlantic ocean, a voyage that spanned 5394 kilometers. 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. 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. Doba's journey started at 15:30 Polish time on 26 October 2010 in Dakar, Africa, and ended when he reached Brazil, touching dry land at 10:12 local timefor the first time in 98 days, 23 hours, and 42 min. He then reached Acaraú at 17:50 local time. 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. When he arrived in Brazil he weighed 64 kg. He lost 14 kg in 14 weeks of the journey. 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. In October 5, 2013, at age 67, he departed from Lisbon 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. Doba has also paddled in a kayak with others around the Baltic Sea, from Police to Narvik and around Lake Baikal. 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. 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. He was at sea for 110 consecutive days. 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.
