Polish man, 67, says he crossed Atlantic by kayak over six months

MIAMI (AFP) - A 67-year-old Polish retiree has claimed he kayaked solo across the Atlantic, taking six months to make the ocean crossing from Portugal to Florida.

Aleksander Doba said on his Google+ page that he arrived in Florida late Thursday after setting off from Lisbon on October 5 in the 6.4 meter white and yellow kayak he calls "Olo."

Mr Doba posted a photo of himself sporting a foot-long graying beard and broad smile on his weathered face, arms raised in jubilation, after reaching the Florida coast.

"He said he's very tired because for the last three nights he didn't sleep with the crossing of the Gulf Stream," the adventurer's translator told The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Mr Doba, who also claims to have crossed the Baltic Sea by kayak, recounted navigating ocean swells and tempestuous weather during the 8,000-kilometer Atlantic journey.

He said he made a stop in Bermuda to have his kayak repaired.

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