Never too late…
A beautiful shot of determined Doba in his open ocean ‘kayak’, showing us that age is no excuse to leave dreams un-lived…
“If 67 years young can do it, you can do it, too.” —Aleksander Doba
A huge congrats and a stinging high five to, Aleksander Doba, who received the mega honor of earning the most votes for the National Geographic People’s choice award, making him the official NG Adventurer of the Year 2014. I was beyond stoked to have been nominated, and I appreciate all of you who took a moment or many to cast a vote for the incredible list of nominees! I’m deeply grateful to National Geographic for recognizing me amongst them.
“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.” –from National Geographic Adventure
Click here to read more about his mind-blowing adventure across the Atlantic!
My HUGEST respect and gratitude to fellow ocean voyager, Aleksander, who reminds us that it is never too late to live your dreams!! Courage and luck to you on your next adventure, Aleksander!!
7 Comments
Riley Johnson
February 28, 2015Hi Captain Liz,
I am a 15-year-old surfer from Southern California. I love the ocean and want to start promoting ocean awareness. My dream is to circumnavigate the globe and live the free lifestyle like you, but I don’t know how to get started. I was thinking about doing sea scouts to learn to sail, but will that benefit me and help me accomplish my goal? Are there any other organizations that would best suit me for learning how to sail? I have so many questions and would love to get in touch. My main questions are: How do I know if this is something I really want to do? How do I get a feel for the lifestyle?
Captain Liz
March 2, 2015Hi Riley! I think sea scouts would be a great place to start! Anyway to get you out on the sea safely is going to help you decide whether it’s something you want to pursue further in the future. I think that no matter which sailing program you choose you will learn the fundamentals of sailing, which you will apply to any sailing pursuits ahead of you. After that if you want to try out a cruising lifestyle, it might be good to do some crewing on sailboats that need a hand. You can find boats going south every year on the Latitude 38 website, or through other crew networks online. To answer your question about ‘knowing if this is something you really want to do…’–my advice is to get out there and see if it makes your heart sing! it’s all a matter of listening to your heart and ‘feeling’ whether it evokes a greater/deeper desire to do more. Your heart will know if that is where you’re supposed to be. Good Luck my friend!! All the best, liz
Riley Johnson
March 3, 2015Hi Captain Liz,
Thank you so much for the insight! I will be starting sea scouts this summer hopefully so I can get a good feel for sailing! Good luck on your Journey!
God Bless
Riley Johnson
Paul
April 23, 2015A friend of mine, Webb Chiles first left S California in the late 70s and has circumnavigated 5 times. Today at 71, and effectively blind in one eye, hes making his 6th trip around and is in New Zealand on his Moore 24. Much like you he loves being out there and being one with the planet.
Captain Liz
May 2, 2015i would LOVE to meet him, Paul!! thanks for sharing his story…WOW!? :D liz
Job de Azevedo
May 4, 2015Ironman..
Jeanvisiter
July 2, 2016Yeah!! It’s never to late to do what you want to do :)