1928

Atlantic - First recorded crossing in a sea kayak

Franz Romer · Ocean Crossings

On 31 March 1928, German-born Romer set out alone from Lisbon. 58 days at sea between the Canaries and St. Thomas. Lost to a hurricane on the next leg to New York.

On March 31, 1928, German-born Franz Romer set out alone from Lisbon, Portugal, to make the first recorded crossing of the Atlantic in a sea kayak. The 29-year-old World War I veteran travelled almost 4,000 miles and spent 58 unbroken days at sea between the Canary Islands and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, before finally making land in Puerto Rico. Romer filled Deutscher Sport, his 21'6" modified Klepper, end-to-end with food and slept in his seated position under a homemade spray skirt. He was lost to a hurricane on his next leg to New York. Despite his death, Franz Romer's Atlantic crossing remains inarguably the greatest sea kayaking expedition of the modern era.