Koen is attempting something nobody has done before: crossing the Atlantic Ocean by kitesurf. Around 3,000 nautical miles, no engine, every mile under his own power.
While most of us Ocean Nomads dream of crossing by sail, Belgian kitesurfer Koen Darras is preparing to do it standing on a board. The route runs from the Canary Islands via Cape Verde to the Caribbean. It will take weeks of open ocean, swell and trade winds, and it comes down to the wind and his own endurance. Thomas’s steel ketch Windfall sails alongside as the safety boat, but every mile is Koen’s own.
When Koen reached out to Ocean Nomads with his crossing, a bigger ocean message and a call for support, we knew we wanted to help. This is why we started Ocean Nomads: to connect people to each other and to the ocean, and to back adventures and lives rooted in nature.
Over the years the network grew into sailors, boat owners, expedition people and projects in all the wild corners of the world, with a lot of hard-won knowledge between them. So we connected Koen with Thomas, long-time Ocean Nomads ambassador and owner of the expedition vessel Windfall, who sails alongside him as the safety and expedition platform. We are also helping pull together the experience, logistics and support around the mission. And ripple!
The crossing
Nobody has crossed the Atlantic solo by kitesurf before. The route is around 3,000 nautical miles (5,000 km), from the Canary Islands via Cape Verde to the Caribbean, which means weeks on the open ocean with nothing but wind power. The ocean leg leaves Mindelo in early January 2027, weather permitting. Thomas’s 16-metre steel ketch Windfall sails alongside as the safety boat, crewed from the Ocean Nomads network, and stays on standby for emergencies while Koen does every mile himself.
Where it stands now
Thomas cast off from Almere this week after years of refit, and on 2 November the boat leaves Blankenberge for the Canary Islands with a crew that met through the network. Around New Year a whole bunch of ocean nomads gather in Mindelo to see them off, and members hear first where and when. The story of that crew is here: The crew behind Thomas’s Atlantic and Arctic expeditions.
The ripple effect
The ocean needs more explorers who move with intention, and more visible examples of lives lived with nature. That is the ripple we are after.
Most of the crew on this crossing comes from the Ocean Nomads network, and we’re very proud of that.
Meet Koen in the Ocean Nomads network
Follow the crossing on Koen’s site: www.atlanticcrossing.world
Come meet your people
Koen found his support boat and most of its crew inside Ocean Nomads. The same network is open to you. Inside you find the map, the crew calls, the meetups, and sailors, vanlifers, hikers and basecamps in all the wild corners of the world who say yes when you need a hand.
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