The channel containsbig tides and strong currents in addition to very large ship’s traffic, which I feel already,” writes Aleksander Doba (Olek) from the Atlantic, still from the Atlantic, but already on its European waters.
Aleksander Doba already on European Waters
By Piotr Chmielinski
“I’m thrilled to reach the world’s most difficult to navigate waters, the English Channel, as the finishing point of my Third Transatlantic Kayak Expedition. The channel contains big tides and strong currents in addition to very large ship’s traffic, which I feel already,” writes Aleksander Doba (Olek) from the Atlantic, still from the Atlantic, but already on its European waters.
The original destination of Olek’s North Atlantic expedition from the United States to Europe was Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. But somewhere halfway the kayaker decided to change the landfall location from Portugal to France. The expedition conclusion point is still uncertain, due to the significant influence of variable weather conditions on which kayaker depends. The landfall locations considered are Brest, Cherbourg and Le Havre according to one of his latest messages. Nevertheless, Olek’s first choice is Le Havre, although that location is farthest and requires entry into the Channel, which, according to the meteorologist, Dr. Robert Krasowski – is crowded “like on Marszalkowska Street”, the busiest artery in Warsaw, the capital of Poland.
“As a destination I chose Le Havre at the mouth of the Seine. It is a very complicated and difficult task” – reports Aleksander Doba – “I decided to challenge myself at the end of the Atlantic kayak expeditions.”
Entering the English Channel itself is already a test, where the main threat is the close proximity of the land. As we remember, when the kayaker left the US coast, he needed to reach the safe distance of 150 nautical miles offshore to avoid crashing to the coast in case of strong, against the desired direction winds. The English Channel has a width of only about 50 miles at the west entry.
In the coming days, “the winds will be spinning, so you have to shoot in well,” writes Robert Krasowski. To shoot in means to wait for the winds blowing from the west to the east. With their help Olek should enter the English bottleneck and then within a few days reach the target of his choice.
So, Europe is really close. Only 80 nautical miles separate Olek from Cornwall in Great Britain, and only 150 miles from Brest in France. Cherbourg is located 90 miles farther. Finally, the distance between Olek and awaited by the kayaker Le Havre is only 300 nautical miles. This, Barnegat Light, the departure point in the USA from where Olek left on May 16 is already 2800 nautical miles away. However, the true distance he has overcome, pushed back and pushed off the route, is about 3950 nautical miles.
Although the destination already seems to be almost within a reach of his paddle, it is still impossible to accurately determine the end date of the expedition. The weather conditions will decide when and where Olek reaches shore. Nevertheless, with a great probability it can be said that Olek will celebrate his birthday on European land; he turns 71 falling on September 9.
Precise information on where and when Aleksander Doba is going to reach Europe I will be announced in the next statement.
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https://explorersweb.com/A-stressful-kayaking-across-the-Atlantic-2017-07-25-53506
