Man paddles 2,500 miles from California to Hawaii

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Associated Press)

published 28 August 2019

Antonio de la Rosa turned 50 years old in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as he paddled his way from California to Hawaii.

It took him 76 days to make the journey, leaving in June and arriving in Honolulu on Saturday. The Valladolid, Spain, resident used a 21-foot-long paddleboat, which had a tiny cabin for him to sleep in and was equipped with solar panels. His arms were his motors, de la Rosa told The Associated Press, and he spent eight to 10 hours a day paddling. He didn't get much sleep, as he got up every hour to make sure everything on the vessel was functioning.

There were some dramatic events along the way, like when Hurricane Flossie passed within 60 miles of de la Rosa. He also saw things that bothered him, including an abundance of discarded fishing lines and nets. A longtime adventurer — de la Rosa has also circumnavigated the Iberian Peninsula coastline on a paddle board and completed the Iditarod route on a special bicycle with snow tires — he told AP why he goes on these adventures: "I like it because it's hard." Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox