72yo Frenchman crosses Atlantic in a ‘barrel’ (PHOTOS)
Transatlantic crossings have become somewhat mundane but this Frenchman turned his journey into a real tour de force, as he spent four months afloat on a small barrel-shaped capsule.
Jean-Jacques Savin’s adventure was followed by more than 23,000 people as he posted updates on his Facebook page. On Saturday, around four months after casting off from the Canary Islands west of Africa on December 26, he finally announced that his mission is over.
“After 122 days and nine hours the meridian positions me in the Caribbean Sea. The crossing is over. Thank you all,” the traveler wrote in an email cited by local media.
Savin said that he is currently drifting to Florida, US and is looking for a vessel that would take him to the nearest post.
The 72-year-old retired military paratrooper and pilot had initially hoped to complete the journey in three months but capricious winds slowed his progress. Locked in a three-meter-long and 2.10-meter-wide vessel, Savin showed no signs of discouragement in the face of his lone endeavor, however. In a satellite phone call earlier in April, he said he was “not bored at all” as he was “experiencing this feeling of freedom.” The sailing routine left him plenty of time to enjoy “magnificent sunrises and sunsets” and allowed him to admire “the richness of the ocean’s wildlife.”
The sailor was got to enjoy the aquatic fauna from the comfort of his vessel, as the resin-coated barrel was heavily reinforced to resist waves and potential animal attacks.
The capsule provides six square meters of living space and features a porthole in the floor to watch the passing fish.
Also on rt.com New world record? Russian explorer rows through half of southern Pacific in 100 daysSavin, who climbed Mont Blanc in 2015 and won second place in the French triathlon championship, raised money for his latest adventure through crowdfunding. Upon returning to France, the thrill-seeker plans to swim across the English Channel, according to local media.
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