At 71, Aleksander Doba, from Police, Poland, knows a lot about obsession. He also knows a lot about testing his endurance and spirit against the elements and whatever nature can throw his way. And he knows even more about paddling a 23-foot kayak alone across the Atlantic Ocean, something he has done three times.
The first time, he took the southern route, from Dakar, Senegal, to Brazil. The second time, he took the mid-Atlantic route, from Lisbon to Bermuda to Florida. The third, and most recent time, he took the treacherous northern route, starting in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, and ending up in Le Conquet, France, 110 days later.
In this thoroughly reported profile in The New York Times, Doba explains why tackling the Atlantic in his self-righting, unsinkable kayak gives him such an existential thrill, despite storms, blistering skin, sharks and tinges of dementia. It’s not any more about the kayak than Moby-Dick is about a whale. It is about Doba’s simple pursuit of a deeper meaning in life. Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/22/magazine/voyages-kayaking-across-ocean-at-70.html
