The fantastic story of the Brazilian who rowed across an ocean

The Brazilian navigator Amyr Klink crossed the South Atlantic by rowing in a boat he built himself. The feat took place in 1984, when he was 29 years old. Klink traveled alone 3,700 miles (or nearly 6,000 kilometers) in 100 days.

O Incredible.club shows the fantastic trajectory of this sailor who has more than 40 expeditions to Antarctica under his belt.

Born in the city of São Paulo, Amyr Klink is the eldest of four children born to Lebanese Jamil Klink and Sweden’s Asa Frieberg Klink. As a child, he was dazzled by the boats he saw in the city of Paraty, a city on the south coast of Rio, and, at the age of 10, he convinced his parents to give him a canoe.

Although he was notable in his life for the fearless way and the dexterity with which he navigates, Amyr Klink’s first international trip was on dry land, with a motorcycle. The destination chosen in 1978 was Chile, on a route partially covered by the Andes mountain range. Since then, she never stopped. In 1992, for example, she carried out a terrestrial navigation along the Brazilian coast by motorcycle. As he says in interviews, he prefers the most powerful bikes.

Five years after his first international trip, in 1983, Klink completes the first boat he produced, the IAT According to interviews, it took three years from the “imbecile” idea (his words) until he went to Namibia, Africa, with the intention of sailing 7 thousand km to the coast of Bahia, in Brazil, using only a paddle and instructions given by radios from other vessels and radio amateurs. At a time when GPS did not exist, the difficulty increased even more. It took 101 days until he achieved the feat, never equaled before. The feat of navigating such a great distance in such a small boat carrying only 275 liters of water, few medicines and dehydrated foods is reported in the best seller “One Hundred Days Between Sky and Sea”.

At the age of 31, in 1986, already graduated in economics and after having worked two years in a bank, he decided to drop everything and travel to Antarctica. Upon returning, he started the construction of the Paratii boat. In 1989 he sailed alone to the cold Antarctic continent. On the way, however, he had a setback: the Paratii was stuck in Dorian’s bay, on the ice. After managing to free him, Amyr headed for the North Pole and, from there, returned to Paraty. In this saga, 27,000 nautical miles were covered, in a voyage that lasted 642 days. The experience earned him another book, called “Paratii, Entre Dois Polos”.

Although they had lived together since 1992, it was only in 1996 that Amyr Klink married fellow sailor Marina Bandeira. The two had three daughters. In 2001, Amyr completes the most modern sailboat ever made in Brazil, the Paratii 2. During his trips, he is accompanied by his wife, who starts to record the trips through beautiful photos that even earned her two books “Antártica — A Última Fronteira” ” and “Antarctica — The Nomad Look”.

In addition to their travels, Amyr and Marina are also dedicated to giving lectures, writing books and organizing exhibitions. Amyr Klink has participated in over 2,500 events in his 30+ years as a speaker. Recently the feat of having crossed the South Atlantic alone was the reason for an exhibition that will travel through different parts of Brazil showing the original vessel. Her achievements also inspired the creation of a game by a famous toy company. Author of five books, he is also active in the advertising market. In addition to her work with her husband, Marina is also the author of books and gives lectures on her photographic expeditions on seven continents.

Do you also have an adventurous spirit? What was the most interesting place you visited?