Most of us want to travel in a pretty comfortable fashion. With the evolution of cars, buses and planes, traveling has never been this cozy, simple and efficient. But, there are others who defy the conventional means by taking a more adventurous away of traveling.
Marco Amoretti and Marcolino De Candia, for instance, did the impossible by becoming the first and only people to cross the Atlantic Ocean with just a floating car. No, this is not a typo. They literally sailed across the Atlantic with a car. Actually, it was Giorgio, Marco’s father, who came up with this crazy and bizarre idea. A year before he found out that he had terminal cancer, Marco’s father created a “sea automobile” and dreamed of crossing an ocean using it.
Unfortunately, Giorgio was too weak and sick to pull off this one-of-a-kind feat. But, eventually, his three sons as well as Marcolino decided to make this dream a reality for him.
Their journey began on May 4, 1999. From the Canary Island, the four adventurous men sailed away to cross the Atlantic and reach the other side of the ocean.
To complete the trip, they had to use a junked Volkswagen Passat as well as a Ford Taunus that was filled to the brim with buoyant polyurethane.
Marco said the passenger and driver compartment was used as their shelter. Additionally, they used a rubber boat on top of their car. They made a hole in the middle of the rubber boat, so that they can easily climb in and out of the vehicle.
There were, of course, a few challenges and hiccups along the way. Due to acute seasickness, Marco’s brothers were forced to forgo the trip. Even so, this stumbling block didn’t damper the spirit of the two remaining voyagers who were extremely motivated to cross the ocean.
Their journey was, by no means, easy. They were battered by a powerful typhoon and were often pummeled by storms.
Once, their satellite phone malfunctioned, causing them to lose contact with the world temporarily.
Ultimately, Marco made a successful call to their home. His father had already passed away when he made the call. He kept asking about his father, but nobody said anything. Apparently, they didn’t want to lower the morale of the two remaining voyagers.
Yet, even with all the odds stacked against them, they still managed to do the impossible, completing the journey in flying colors.
After spending 4 months in their cool “sea autos”, the two intrepid travelers reached the Caribbean Island’s shores, completing the 3,000-mile-long journey.
And, the two men became the first and are still the only people that crossed the Atlantic with just a floating car.
