What’ll they think of next? On March 12, Hungarian Gabor Rakonczay became the first person to single-handedly canoe (yes, with a single blade) across the Atlantic, taking 76 days to paddle from Portugal to Antigua…
During 50 of those 76 days, he was completely cut off from the world after his radio and satellite phone quick working after a capsize.
The 30-year-old undertook his journey without the aid of GPS or satellite tracking equipment, meaning family back home had no idea if he was even alive until he hit land in the Caribbean.
Rakonczay, who rowed the Atlantic with his wife, Viktoria, in 2008, began his journey four days before Christmas, stopping only once en-route as he docked his 7.5-meter vessel in the Canary Islands for supplies.
“Everyone was certain that if I ran into any difficulties, I’d be able to solve them,” Rakonczay told reporters afterward. “I was often surrounded by waves 4 meters high and the canoe is less than one meter high, so many of the boats that I saw simply weren’t able to see me.
“It was a great relief to reach port because it meant completing the journey and because my family could finally know for sure that I was OK,” he added.
While the Atlantic has been crossed in a sea kayak several times, Rakonczay is the first to do it in a canoe with a single blade.
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