Ocean kayaker Aleksander Doba is nearing the end of his third Atlantic crossing and has hit a major milestone along the way. The Polish adventurer was recently spotted near the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Britain, and is now said to be less than 100 miles from the coast of France, where it now appears he'll make landfall soon.For weeks we've been following Doba's progress across the Atlantic, which began way back in May and included a couple of false starts along the way. The journey has not been an easy one, as the Pole has faced wild currents, wicked waves, and massive storms. He's also had to overcome damage to his rudder, which left him stranded in the middle of the ocean for a time. But now, he's nearing the end of the journey at long last, and should finish just about on schedule in a few more days time.
Currently, Doba is sitting off the coast of England near Cornwall. Technically, he could wrap up his journey by simply paddling to shore, but he has indicated to his support team that he wishes to continue onward to the European continent itself. Originally, the plan was to arrive in Portugal, but high winds and difficult currents have pushed him further north, where he'll now arrive in France instead.
Just when exactly he'll reach the end of his journey remains to be seen. Looking at his live tracker, it appears that he has not yet begun to cross the English Channel, but is preparing to do so soon. He'll have to deal with another challenge once he embarks on that stage of the journey, where he'll soon face lots of shipping traffic as well. But, it conditions remain stable, it shouldn't take too much time for him to finish the ocean crossing and return to land at long last.
It has been 3.5 months since Doba has last seen dry land and last week's sighting of the Isles of Scilly had to come as a relief. His third Atlantic crossing has been his most difficult, and at the age of 70 this could potentially be his final journey. Aleksander will turn 71 on September 9 however, and he continues to be a good reminder that age is mostly just a number.
Good luck on the final crossing Olek.
