What made you do it?
I worked for Nortel Networks in Spain, but when the Internet bubble burst I was made redundant. My kids were grown up, I separated from my wife and I felt free. I decided on a flexible job so I became a taxi driver. For half a year I drove and I planned.
Did you have any experience of the sea?
I didn’t learn to swim long distances until I was 27, and I started to sail at 30. In 1981, I completed a cross-Atlantic journey from Plymouth [UK] to Newport [Rhode Island, USA], a distance of around 7,200 kilometres, in a trimaran vessel with José-Luis Ferrer. It was dangerous and not many people wanted to risk it.
Had you paddled a kayak before?
Yes, I have a French Nautiraid foldable kayak: it’s five metres long. I’ve kayaked rivers in Spain and France. On the sea, I have circled around the Balearic Islands. I also went to Turkey by plane and then travelled along the southern coast for 20 days, but this was the first time in open sea.
What did you take?
I was carrying enough water and food for 10 days. I was drinking at least 3.5 litres of water, soymilk and isotonic drinks a day. I was paddling 16 hours per day, so I ate carbohydrates: cookies and cereal bars. You have to wear something that does not retain water, and you have to be warm and dry, so at night I wore a Lycra suit with a polar fleece on top. I used a GPS [Global Positioning System] to navigate, and a compass, although on clear nights I used the stars. I carried flares. A radio is useless in a storm, because they can’t see where you are.
What did you experience out there?
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