71-year-old Jean-Jacques Savin, an experienced navigator, and sailor has now decided to embark on a new challenge in an extremely small vessel. He swam across the Bay of Arcachon four times and climbed Mont Blanc in 2015.

Published 6 years ago, updated 5 years ago

The 71-year-old French adventurer Jean-Jacques Savin is drifting across the Atlantic in a three-meter (10-foot) “barrel” that relies on wind and ocean currents for propulsion.

Savin set off from El Hierro in Spain’s Canary Islands on December 26, 2018, and is aiming to complete the 4,500-kilometer (2,800-mile) voyage to the Caribbean in about three months.

His barrel, 3m long and 2.1m wide, has around six square meters (65 square feet) of living space and includes four portholes, one of which faces downwards under-water. It contains a kitchen, sleeping bunk, and storage. Entry is via a 60 centimeter (24-inch) hatch on top, and the vessel has a weighted keel for balance.

Solar power from two 100w panels will be used to provide power for satellite connectivity. The capsule is designed to resist waves and any potential attacks by Orca whales. He believes ocean currents alone will carry his resin-coated plywood vessel about 4,500km (2,800 miles) to the Caribbean.

Updates on his position can found on his Facebook page.

Mr. Savin’s trip was apparently partly inspired by a trip taken by Alain Bombard, who crossed the Atlantic in an inflatable boat in 1952.