“If 67 years young can do it, you can do it, too.” —Aleksander Doba
The votes have been counted—a record-setting 521,000 of them. They’re a testament to the inspiring quests of all the National Geographic 2015 Adventurers of the Year. But there can only be one People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year, and that award goes to Aleksander Doba.
At 67 years old, the Polish adventurer made the longest open-water kayak crossing of the Atlantic in history. Using just his arm strength and considerable willpower, Doba paddled 7,700 miles in his 23-foot kayak, OLO, departing in October 2013 from Lisbon and arriving six months later in Florida. The retired mechanical engineer, now 68, is the only person to kayak across the Atlantic, continent-to-continent, alone, unassisted, and under his own power. He battled 30-foot waves and got entangled in the Bermuda Triangle. His engineering skills were tested time and time again. Read his story, then view photos of Doba and all the National Geographic Adventurers of the Year.
Doba is not hanging up his paddle yet. In spring 2016, at 70 years old, he plans to attempt crossing the Atlantic Ocean solo by kayak again, this time starting from New York and finishing in Europe.
Read Doba’s ten life lessons learned from the hull of a kayak set on a course for big dreams.
Read more about Doba in the Summer/Fall 2014 issue of Adventure Kayak here.
