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Polish adventurer Aleksander Doba dies at 74

23.02.2021 13:35
Polish adventurer Aleksander Doba, who completed three solo kayak trips across the Atlantic, has died at the age of 74 during an attempt to scale the highest peak in Africa, his family said on Tuesday.
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Aleksander Doba, pictured in 2017.
Aleksander Doba, pictured in 2017. Photo: PAP/Bartłomiej Zborowski.

"It is with deep regret that we announce that the great kayaker Aleksander Doba died on February 22. He died the death of a traveller, conquering the highest peak in Africa - Kilimanjaro, fulfilling his dreams,” his family wrote on Facebook.


Aleksander Doba in 2017. Photo: PAP/Bartłomiej Zborowski
Aleksander Doba in 2017. Photo: PAP/Bartłomiej Zborowski

Doba achieved worldwide fame, primarily for his exploits at sea. He was the first man in history to complete a solo transatlantic voyage in a kayak.

In 2010, he crossed the Atlantic between Senegal and Brazil in 99 days.

In 2013, he paddled 5,400 miles across the Atlantic's widest point, from Lisbon in Portugal to Florida in the US, in 167 days. He was 68 years old at the time.

The feat earned him the 2015 People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year title from National Geographic magazine.

After his third, epic solo kayak adventure across the Atlantic in 2017 at the age of 70, Doba said he would not attempt the feat again.

(pk-mk)

Source: IAR

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