My Adventure: by Cal Currier
I am the youngest known person in history to have sailed solo across the Atlantic from west to east. The adventure started innocently six months earlier, when my brothers and I were kicking around audacious ideas in the car. Despite not really knowing how to sail, the “solo sail across the Atlantic” was the idea that wouldn’t leave my mind. I wanted a real adventure. I wanted my time in the wild. When I left on June 27th, I hadn’t spent any time alone offshore. My plan was to treat the first two days as a test run. After that, I would decide whether to continue or turn back.
Now here I was, alone in my sailboat, 100 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. Was I going to turn back to shore, or keep sailing to Europe? Turning back meant friends, summer fun, and safety. I would still be pleased with all I had accomplished. I could try again next year. There was no shame in turning back, as I had made no fanfare before leaving. In fact, of those who were aware of the project, only two people were in favor of it. Sailing on, at best, meant a month of loneliness, boredom, and sleep deprivation. Death, at worst. But what would I be telling myself if I turned back? Wasn’t life to be fully lived as an adventure?
Further, I had evaluated the risks and done the work to talk to the experts and build redundant systems. I had not listened to the skeptics. Nobody else had looked at the data; they had just responded with emotions: “Ah! Alone?! In the middle of that Atlantic? Never!” My lust for adventure combined with my rational calculations about the risks made it clear the right decision was to go. Screw the naysayers. I was 16. It was time to be the captain of my own ship. 😉 The trip was wet, salty, sticky, and unpleasant. I had to wake up every two hours to scan the horizon, check the instruments, and adjust the sails, which caused sleep deprivation. This wasn’t Life of Pi. This wasn’t the Odyssey. This was just sitting. Bored. I lost 15 pounds over the 28 days from low grade nausea.
Unbeknownst to me, the press caught wind of me being out there. When I landed, I was suddenly on The Today Show, Cruising World Magazine, and over 20 other publications and given awards by the two big offshore sailing clubs. Did I want the press? No. Did I know I would be setting a record? No. Did I know I was the youngest? No. I just wanted my time in the wild.
I don’t think I’ll sail solo again, because I like people too much. I find sailboat racing with teammates suits me better.
Advice to Others:
The preparation for this was short, cheap, and most importantly, extraordinarily lucky. First I had to research past transoceanic solo sails, looking at boat type, modifications, and technologies that helped with it. I made a list, with all the things that the boat needed and then started searching for it, using websites and classifieds to find a list of candidates. Seeing as I was in sophomore year of highschool, I still had to keep up with class, extracurriculars, and some extra classes I was taking. My list of boats were all on the east coast, which was a 6 hour flight from where I live in California.
My father and I took a weekend to go see them, looking at 4-5 boats a day. The cheapest boat on our list, as well as the first one we saw, ended up being the one we bought. For $12,000 we got a boat that was 90% ready for my goals. The man who sold it to me was a 90 year old lifelong sailor named Sandy who had dreamed of crossing the Atlantic one last time. His wife had told him that he was too old so when he sold it to me, he was not just selling me the boat, but also his dream.
I went back home and started learning how to sail, watching youtube and taking lessons at the local sailing school. The day after school got out, I flew to the east coast, meeting up with Sandy and started learning about the boat. I had to learn everything about it, every bolt, line, wire, and screw. After two months, I was ready to go. Looking at the weather patterns in the Atlantic, the last possible day I could safely leave was June 27th. I left on June 27th.