The Coast Guard rescued a 57-year-old man attempting to kayak from California to Hawaii on Tuesday morning, 11 days after he began his journey.

Although the man was prepared with electronic equipment and solar panel technology to charge it, the solar panel malfunctioned and the Coast Guard received a distress call from him Tuesday.

A friend of the man, who was not identified, reported he left Monterey on May 30 to begin the journey to Hawaii. His equipment failed Saturday and he turned back toward the mainland, but made the distress call a few days later as he became disoriented.

A Coast Guard helicopter found the man in the Pacific about 60 miles southwest of Point Conception and directed a cutter crew to his location.


“A voyage from California to Hawaii is a long and treacherous journey for any vessel and exponentially more dangerous for a kayaker,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Hall, a watch stander at the Coast Guard’s Long Beach command center, in a news release. “His preparedness allowed him to call for help, but he is lucky to be alive.”

The man reported no injuries. Had he made it to Honolulu, he would have kayaked nearly 2,400 miles.

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