We covered Michael Walther and his zero-emission project from the very beginning and were very excited when he finally got started. Thanks to modern navigation technology, we were able to follow Micha every day and we did. It was even better when Micha contacted his followers directly from the open sea via social media.
We were all very touched when we received the news that Micha had to make landfall unexpectedly due to an accident off the Canary Islands. We were all very excited and also disappointed that Micha had to abort his mission due to the damage to his boat.
Nevertheless, paddling from Portugal to the Canaries is a great achievement and now that he is back in Kiel, we have contacted him to find out how everything went.
Aloha Micha, thank you very much for your time. We at Stand Up Magazine have been following you every day as you made your way from Portugal to the Canary Islands. We already had a very interesting interview about your preparations, so let’s start at the harbor in Portugal.
You’re standing on your boat and you’re just leaving the harbor and paddling out to sea. What was going through your head?
Phew, that was a really tough moment. From one moment to the next, it went from busy and stressful (media inquiries, preparations, etc.) to me alone at sea. It makes you swallow for a moment and ask yourself whether it was such a good idea.
But it was worth it for the few weeks, the impression of being alone on the Atlantic is really something special. Even if it wasn’t as long as planned – when I started in Portugal, I assumed that I wouldn’t see anyone for three months.
I can well imagine that after so much preparation there is also a certain relief when it finally starts?
Yes, of course. So the preparations and planning are super long and the closer the start gets, the more stressful it becomes. At some point you’re really glad when it starts. I had a live interview with NTV an hour after the start, that was the last part of the preparatory work for me, after that I was alone with the sea.
So how was the first night on the boat?
It was pleasantly calm. I had sea lights and as I couldn’t sleep anyway, I paddled for the most part. There were still seabirds flying here and there, but they become fewer as you get further out.
How do you sleep like that?
I slept very differently in the following nights, depending on the conditions. Two days after the start there was a strong north-westerly wind which, together with the current from Gibraltar, caused a lousy, short and steep wave. It was only 5 m high, but the top 1.5 m broke in many of these waves, which was really tough. I almost couldn’t sleep at all for two nights because of it, I was so tired afterwards and could probably have managed a nap anywhere.
I woke up every morning and checked my phone to see how far Micha had come. One morning I saw that you had changed direction and were heading towards Africa. You later corrected this. Now we have an interesting kink in your course. Can you explain what happened?
I let myself drift for a few hours because I had to catch up on the sleep that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. I’ve always kept my sleep breaks very short and very spread out, but this one break simply had to be longer, despite the wind coming from a rather mediocre direction.
Oh, how interesting. Tell me, did you have any other special events? Have you seen anything interesting? Animals?
I have seen dolphins several times. Interestingly, a school of 25 dolphins in hunting mode doesn’t seem so relaxed when you’re standing alone on a 6 m board in the middle of the sea. Apart from that, I had a visit from seabirds and just before the Canary Islands a small bird took a break on board with me. I offered it fresh water and dry oatmeal and ate at the same time. So once again I had company during dinner…
We have heard that you saw some ships, including some that were unpleasant for you. Can you tell us about them?
My board was actually equipped with an active and passive AIS, so I could assume that commercial shipping would see me. Unfortunately, the active AIS had failed south of Portugal, so I had to constantly take evasive action and be on my guard. This was one of the reasons why I slept for no more than an hour at a time during the trip (with one exception). My passive AIS shows me a radius of 8 nautical miles and if I didn’t see any ships and there was nothing on the horizon, I lay down for 50 to 60 minutes. Theoretically, a ship traveling at 20 knots could still have come very close, but if someone was within 2 nautical miles of my board, an alarm went off and then I could take evasive action. Unfortunately, this was necessary three times and even if 2 nautical miles doesn’t sound that close, I can tell you that at night on the Atlantic it feels far too close when a 200 m freighter is heading towards you…
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But now the big question mark of all: your accident. I myself took a close look at your pictures to see where the force came from that tore the hole in the roof. These composite boats are quite stable and the hole is at the highest point of the boat. The antenna was also gone. The whole thing is quite mysterious.
It’s not that mysterious. I was lying in my bunk and woke up with the first bang and was thrown through the cabin at the same time. The board lay directly on its side, then it crunched loudly and clearly, banged again and straightened up again. My guess is that I hit a man-made object with the sword (at least that’s what it looks like) and the board then lay on its side. It obviously got caught on the object with the cabin overhang. The second bang was probably the moment it came loose again and then righted itself. I was only able to get out after that, so it’s all just a guess. But the marks on the board point in that direction.
I guess we’ll never know for sure, but the important thing is that you’re well up and have made it ashore.
I see it the same way. The 15 km walk ashore with a slightly bruised shoulder and a split sword wasn’t that cool, I was really relieved when I got to the harbor.
What was going through your mind on the way to the port? Keep going at all costs. Lost all hope or what was your state of mind?
At that moment I was a bit shocked because I also wondered what would have happened if I had been on deck. After that, I hoped that everything would hold until we reached the harbor, so I really hurried. I had also made a marker on the board so that I would have known if large amounts of water were coming in somewhere and I should send the SOS signal. Luckily, it didn’t get that far, so of course I was also thinking about what could happen next, what had happened and how I could move on.
Now that the decision is behind you, the question is of course whether you will do the whole thing again and if so, from where? What’s going on in your head right now?
Phew, that’s really difficult. Even now it’s still too fresh and I’ll definitely take until the beginning of 2026 to make a decision. Maybe boot Düsseldorf is the right place to talk about it. Based on my current feeling, I would say that I’m not in the mood for loose ends and want to go through with it, but I would then start in my port of refuge.
One last question, we talked about the fact that you also have family and friends on land. How did they experience your voyage? Were they worried about you?
Yes, of course. You could say that those who are emotionally closest to me found the trip less cool and those who are further away found it very interesting and exciting. That’s kind of logical. A tour like this is definitely entertaining from the outside, but it’s not always easy when someone close to your heart is alone at sea. I am therefore very happy and also very grateful that my family still supports me 100%. They also know how important it is for me to make it clear that we finally have to get off our asses and work consistently on climate and marine protection. I can’t just sit idly by and want to get people involved in these issues and motivate them. My environment knows that and that’s why I have their absolute backing!
Thank you Micha for your time, we are very proud that we were able to follow you so closely.
I am very pleased that you are so committed! Thank you very much!