The Portuguese Francisco Lufinha has traveled more than 6,700 kilometers aboard a kite-powered sailing boat. In just 47 days, he has sailed from Portugal to the Caribbean aboard a kite-powered boat, a sailboat reused and adapted to be pulled by a kite.
In total, there were 6,700 kilometers without stops. Lufinha’s adventure began last November 3rd when he left the port of Cascais. Five days later, he was forced to make a technical stop in La Palma, in the Canary Islands, where he fixed malfunctions in his kite and made some minor adjustments to the boat. Lufinha then faced extreme air and water temperatures, on-the-fly repairs, and strong winds.
The transatlantic mission was by far the most physically and psychologically demanding challenge I have overcome to date.
Francisco Lufinha
Lufinha used a hand pump to produce water for drinking and cooking. “To produce water, I need to use this water maker. I have two of these, which I can pump and every hour I can make around four liters of water,” he said. The water pump has a special filter to remove salt from the sea water. Lufinha used the water to add to dried food he carried with him on the boat.
I fulfilled another dream. It was another extreme achievement, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Mission accomplished.
Francisco Lufinha
Lufinha, world record holder in kite-surfing, has just completed the biggest challenge of his career: traveling from Portugal to the Caribbean, solo, in a boat propelled by the energy of the wind, the sun and the water. After crossing the Atlantic, Lufinha has managed to break a new world record. During the journey, Lufinha even found time to answer a call from the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The EDP Atlantic Mission is one of four projects that materialize EDP’s ambition to become a 100% green company by 2030, producing energy solely from water, sun and wind. In 2017, Lufinha covered a total of 3372 kilometers in kite-surfing in the four extreme challenges it undertook by connecting the national territory by sea. The EDP mission aims to raise awareness about the protection of the planet.
