Dangerous route: Fyodor Konyukhov was the first to conquer the South Atlantic on paddles

Famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov set a new record and accomplished the impossible: he crossed the South Atlantic on an ordinary paddleboat. More about the amazing feat and life of Fyodor Konyukhov - in the material "Izvestia".

Conquered the South Atlantic: the feat of Fedor Konyukhov

Today it became known that the Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov became the first person in history who was able to cross the South Atlantic alone on the most dangerous route and on a paddleboat. He made his way in 68 days, that is, a little more than two months. This 73-year-old explorer reported in his Telegram channel.

"This night the boat AKROS crossed 20 degrees east longitude (Cape Needle, South Africa) and went out into the Indian Ocean," - stated in the post.

In just 68 days, the traveler reached from South America to the Indian Ocean on the most difficult and dangerous route. During his journey, Konyukhov more than once found himself on the verge of life and death. In early February, the traveler found himself in the epicenter of a terrible storm in the South Atlantic. The video with a fragment of the dangerous minutes quickly went viral on the Web.

According to the son of the traveler Oscar Konyukhov, there was no communication with his father, but the boat was monitored via satellite.

The experienced traveler managed to overcome the water element. On February 4, he got in touch, saying that his paddleboat had flipped over 20 times during the 9-point storm.

"I'm alive, the boat made it through. The waves are big. They are destructive. I can't go out on deck yet and see what kind of destruction is on the boat. In this twenty-four hours somewhere 15 times flipped over the side and 8 times over the bow. Even I saw how many, but when the boat lies upside down for a few seconds before the arrival of another wave, it's scary," - said the words of the traveler Oscar Konyukhov.

Recall, Fyodor Konyukhov left the port of the Argentine city of Ushuaia on December 1, 2024, to sail on a paddleboat "Akros" to Cape Luin in Western Australia. Then the traveler had to overcome 18 thousand km in 200 days, rowing 15 hours a day. Now the traveler continues his voyage, gradually approaching Australia. Konyukhov will have to pass 4.2 thousand nautical miles - about 7778 kilometers.

Konyukhov is the first in history to cross the South Atlantic on a paddleboat

Other records of Fyodor Konyukhov

73-year-old Fyodor Konyukhov is the world's first traveler to reach the five poles of our planet:

- Northern geographic (three times);
- South geographic;
- A pole of relative inaccessibility in the Arctic Ocean;
- Everest (pole of altitude);
- Cape Horn (yachtsmen's pole).

In 2002, Konyukhov managed to cross the Atlantic Ocean from east to west from the Canary Islands to the island of Barbados on the paddleboat Uralaz in 46 days. Also in 2014, he crossed the Pacific Ocean from Chile to Australia in 160 days. And in July 2024, Fyodor Konyukhov set a world record by drifting on a single polar station SP-24 near the North Pole in almost 21 days.

Who is Fyodor Konyukhov

Fyodor Konyukhov was born in 1951 in the village of Chkalov, Zaporozhye region. The childhood of the future traveler was spent on the shore of the Sea of Azov. His father Philip Mikhailovich often went to the sea for fish and took his son with him. Grandfather Mikhail shared with his grandson the knowledge that he gained in communication with Georgy Sedov, the famous Russian polar explorer.

At the age of 15, the young man ventured on his first voyage and sailed across the Sea of Azov in a boat on oars. By the end of school Fyodor realized that he wanted to connect his life with the sea, he enrolled in the Odessa Maritime School to become a ship's mechanic.

The first serious expedition took place in 1977, when Konyukhov made a sailing trip in the Pacific Ocean and repeated the route of Vitus Bering. It was followed by expeditions to Kamchatka and Sakhalin. After Fyodor Konyukhov set a new goal - to conquer the North Pole alone.

Among the expeditions in which Fedor Konyukhov participated are the Soviet-American bicycle race across the USSR Nakhodka - Moscow - Leningrad in 1989, the Russian-Australian off-road rally Nakhodka - Moscow in 1991, the caravan expedition along the route of the Great Silk Road in 2002 and 2009. Fyodor Konyukhov also made overland treks, repeating the path of famous taiga explorers. By the age of 73 he had made dozens of unique expeditions and ascents.

During his travels Fyodor Konyukhov is engaged in research and creative work: he writes paintings and books. In total, the traveler has created more than 3 thousand paintings and several books. Now Konyukhov is an active member of the Union of Journalists, the Union of Painters and Sculptors, the Union of Writers of Russia.