Solo sailor hits high seas in search of history and hope

Heidi Vogt

DAKAR, Senegal — Reasons to row across the Atlantic Ocean alone: Adventure, faith, record-breaking, fundraising for a cause, a memorial. New Yorker Victor Mooney claims them all, energetically.

But maybe it takes that kind of heady passion to brave the Atlantic Ocean in a 24-foot rowboat. Mooney, 41, set off from West Africa on Sunday and pointed his homemade craft toward his hometown of New York City — aiming to become the first African American to row solo across the Atlantic.

Mooney said his voyage is also an awareness-raising trip for AIDS issues in Africa and a memorial to a route that took African slaves to the Americas.

Africans “went through slavery and now they’re going through AIDS and being devastated again,” said Mooney, who lost a brother to the disease.

About 50 residents gathered on the beach to see Mooney off. Many wished him well, but weren’t exactly sure of the purpose for the high-tech boat and dangerous adventure.

“He’s crazy,” said Gaston Sabaly, who works at a beachside restaurant. “Everybody wants to go to America, but not like that.”

Sabaly said the local tourist guides have been joking that Mooney might need someone to accompany him and prodding each other to volunteer for the job. Some in the crowd also seemed confused whether Mooney — a Catholic — had converted to Islam after he painted a picture of a Senegalese Muslim leader on his boat.

Mooney’s craft has no backup sail or motor, and he is rowing without any accompanying boat. He said the French military has promised to send planes over his route occasionally to check up on him.

Fewer than 50 people have completed solo rows across the Atlantic Ocean, according to the England-based Ocean Rowing Society. Four have been lost at sea in the attempt and nearly 40 have had to abandon their trips, according to the group.

Mooney said he’s the first to attempt the trip from Africa. He hopes to reach the Americas in about 120 days, or about four months. Wind and current patterns mean he’ll likely hit the Caribbean first, then start up the coast toward the Brooklyn Bridge — which he aims to reach by October.

“There’s no A train here,” Mooney said, referring to a New York City subway line. His trip was delayed for nearly a month in Senegal to fix a keel broken by fishermen who tried to move his boat by rolling it on logs.

Mooney — on leave from his job as a college publicist — said multiple delays in Senegal were a surprise boon because they helped him get to know the local population.

“The people of Goree Island have really embraced us — and the idea,” he said. The island off the coast of Senegal’s capital once served as a major slave trafficking port and is now frequently visited by African Americans.

One woman who brought her two children down to the beach to see Mooney off said she considered it a history lesson for them.

“It’s the first time we’ve seen something like this,” said Rokia Bachinga. She said she cried when Mooney ceremoniously rubbed his face with sand on the beach and crawled toward his boat. “It was sad to see him crawling like our ancestors did.”

Mooney also wants to raise money for AIDS medicine in Africa. So far he’s only brought in about $6,000 — about half what he’s spent on the trip — but said he expects more donations as he travels. Mooney said the boat and all its supplies cost more than $100,000, but he’s received most of his materials as in-kind donations.

The boat may hold more high-tech equipment than any other craft previously docked at Goree’s port. Mooney said he’s traveling with three phone systems, three global positioning systems, backup solar panels, three water makers, an emergency life raft and “tons of food.”

“I have backup maybe three times over,” Mooney said. “I even have a backup rudder and three sets of oars.” He also has a computer and a satellite Internet connection that he plans to use to keep a Web log — or blog — as he travels.

Mooney trained for his trip by rowing around Long Island and New York. He said he started with 30-mile rows, then worked his way up to 365 miles. He started planning the trip about three years ago.

“Not everybody could do something like that,” said Malik Khouma, a hotel worker on Goree Island. “We all hope he arrives safely.”

Associated Press Writer Hilary Heuler contributed to this report.