Polish grandpa gives up Atlantic kayak crossing bid

State of New York: A Polish grandfather attempting his third solo trans-Atlantic kayak crossing has given up because of strong waves off the US coast.

Adventurer Aleksander Doba paddled off from the tip of Manhattan Sunday. His goal was to reach Portugal in time to celebrate his 70th birthday on land in September.

But waves off Sandy Hook in the state of New Jersey pushed Doba ashore, he said on his Facebook page Friday.

Doba reached shore safely with his kayak but it was too severely damaged to go out again, his land-based team said.

He will try again next year, it said.

A star at home, gray-bearded Doba gained global attention when he was named a National Geographic adventurer of the year in 2015.

At that point, the retired engineer -- also an avid rock-climber, parachutist, glider pilot, sailor and yacht skipper -- had already had two solo Atlantic kayak crossings under his belt.

The first, between October 2010 and February 2011, took him from the Senegalese capital Dakar to the Brazilian city of Acarau.

The second saw him set off from Lisbon in October 2013 and arrive in Florida in April of the following year.