LAGOS, PORTUGAL — A 16-year-old boy with ties to Massachusetts has accomplished the remarkable goal of becoming the youngest person to sail solo across the Atlantic from west to east.
Cal Currier left Marion, MA, on June 27, headed for Portugal on a 30-foot sailboat purchased for $12,000 from a sailmaker in Mystic, Connecticut.
He landed in Portugal on July 25. You can follow his journey here.
“There was never a moment of fear or panic on this trip because it was just so well planned and thought out,” Currier told Boston 25 News in an interview. “I just wanted to live life beautifully I guess. I just wanted to see all of the beauty in life and do that as soon as possible.”
Currier spent 28 days at sea and completed the 3,900-mile journey until he finally touched solid ground in Portugal where his family was eagerly waiting.
Currier resides with his family in Palo Alto, California, but spends every summer in Duxbury and Marion Mass. visiting with his grandfather.
Currier’s family says Cal only recently learned how to sail, and got the idea to make the crossing in January.
His family says Currier took sailing lessons over the spring and fixed up the boat he had purchased at the same time. His family says the money used to buy the boat was earned through a camp Currier had started with his three brothers to teach kids physics, and by getting some sponsorships.
The Guinness Book of Records indicates the youngest person to previously sail solo across the Atlantic was David Sandeman of the United Kingdom who accomplished his sail in 1976 at the age of 17.
Currier’s boat, the Argo, is a 30-foot Tartan monohull sailboat made in 1976.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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