What It's Like To...

What It's Like To Sail Solo Across the Atlantic Ocean (at Age 16)


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Last year, Cal Currier decided to try to sail across the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Portugal, alone.  But he was only 16--and he didn't know how to sail! With a lot of dedication and determination, and a refusal to take "no" for an answer, Cal overcame every obstacle (including convincing his initially-reluctant mother); and in late June 2022, he set out solo, into the Atlantic Ocean, heading east.  The trip wasn't as "exciting" as Cal had hoped, but he did encounter 20-foot waves and potentially deadly jellyfish, and he had to endure day after day of solitude and 90-minute sleep cycles. Along the way, Cal learned that he was setting a world record, as the youngest person ever to solo sail west to east across the Atlantic.  But that was never his motivation.  Hear Cal's remarkable perspective--and who he says the real heroes are of this remarkable journey.

In this episode:

  • Days and nights flowing into each other on the ocean (01:35)
  • Why do it when it wasn't "fun"? (04:12)
  • What Cal did for entertainment on the boat (05:36)
  • How he dealt with sleep deprivation (09:30)
  • What he ate at sea (14:35)
  • How this idea came became reality (15:45)
  • Technology's role in this adventure (18:41)
  • Unknowingly setting a world record (21:24)
  • How Cal's parents felt about this journey (22:22)
  • Characteristics that may make Cal a good candidate for this adventure (24:40)
  • Landing in Lagos, Portugal (29:21)
  • Reflections on life and the "real heroes" of the journey (30:35)
  • What's on the horizon for Cal (32:25)


Want to know more about Cal?

  • Watch this video of his journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcct4RgHEsM


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What It's Like To...By Elizabeth Pearson Garr

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