Hungarian Athlete Rows Solo across the Atlantic Again

Gábor Rakonczay is once again rowing solo across the Atlantic. The extreme sportsman spent Christmas Eve on the ocean, from where he wished all his followers a Merry Christmas. He set sail from Lagos, Portugal, practically the southwestern tip of Europe, and if all goes well, he will reach the other side of the ocean in three months’ time at the island of Antigua in the Caribbean region, Kisalföld writes.

This time, he did not set out with a SUP, but with a canoe called “42” to brave the elements and cross the ocean. Starting from Portugal, he plans a 70-90 day trip across the Atlantic to the island of Antigua. This is where he also arrived in 2007 and 2012.

The extreme sports athlete has six ocean crossings under his belt, has crossed Greenland twice, been part of an Antarctic expedition, and taken part in hundreds of kilometers of ultra runs.

His current adventures can be followed on his social page and via satellite.

Gábor Rakonczay wrote this about the first day: “The northeasterly wind that helped the first few hours changed in the afternoon, then became calm several times during the night. One of the events of the day was that a Coast Guard vessel inspected “42” and its equipment, and then we exchanged tracking links and satellite numbers.”

The sportsman said on his Facebook page a few weeks earlier that

he has “an unfinished journey on the ocean.”

He was referring to his solo attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 2021, on a rigid SUP of his own design and construction. On January 10, he set off from the Canary Islands to complete the 5,200-kilometer journey, but was forced to abandon his plan six days later. Due to the extreme weather conditions, his body began to cool down on the cabinless boat and he had to be rescued by helicopter.

After his rescue, he stressed that:

I will not make a dangerous trip of this level in the future.”

A few weeks passed and he decided to try again.

He did not take to the water on a SUP this time. In his attempt in 2021, he realized that he still needed to gain knowledge and experience with paddling without a cabin. Thus, he rebuilt the “Vitéz,” which he used for the 2012 ocean crossing. Originally built by Nándor Fa, the boat had already seen a lot of action and was refurbished with a new cabin, keel, and rudder system, new rib structure, storage compartments, and new fittings. Rakonczay summed it up like this:

Essentially, based on the experience of the 77-day trip in 2012, the ship has been thoroughly renovated.”

He renamed the canoe from “Vitéz” to “42,” symbolizing the philosophy of the voyage, based on the novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; furthermore, he is 42 years old. He plans to check in daily from the trip, and László Marosi and Viktor Kércz will make a documentary about the whole project.

Via Kisalföld; Featured image via Facebook/Rakonczay Expedíciók