Lemont Lithuanian community celebrates 28-year-old as third person to row alone across the Atlantic

Lithuanian Aurimas Valujavičius, 28, became the third person to row alone mainland to mainland across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain to Florida, according to the Ocean Rowing Society.

Before he headed home to Kaunas, Lithuania, Valujavičius was welcomed Friday at the Lithuanian World Center in Lemont. Meeting with people was overwhelming and exciting, Valujavičius said.

“I was used to living with the wind and water while rowing and now people shout my name and there with flags,” Valujavičius said. “But it was amazing.”

Ingrida Strokovas, president of the American Lithuanian Community Chicago Chapter, said she organized the event, which 1,000 people attended, after a member of the group let her know about Valujavičius sailing the Atlantic. During the event, Valujavičius was interviewed about his experience, he said.

“It was so interesting listening to him,” Strokovas said. “He said it was so easy for him, not hard. He had a sense of humor the whole time.”

Agne Mickute, of Lemont, said she attended with her husband, two children and her mother. While they listened to him talk, Mickute said she was struck by Valujavičius’ strength and character, and she took away his message about how everyone faces hardships in life but it’s important to move forward.

“The way he was talking, you can tell he was calm and filled with ambition,” Mickute said. “The message he was carrying was amazing.”

Valujavičius, who has a large social media presence and shares videos of his adventures, said he was kayaking the Danube, the second-longest river in Europe that goes through nine countries, back in 2020 when one of his followers sent him a message about a challenge to row the Atlantic.

The challenge was to row from the Canary Islands to Antigua, or 3,000 miles, Valujavičius said. It included support boats and row teams, he said.

But the more he researched it, Valujavičius said he realized that if he was going to row the Atlantic, he wanted to row the whole thing unsupported and alone.

“It was more challenging, a more true experience,” Valujavičius said.

For two years, Valujavičius prepared and trained. He purchased his boat, the Lituanica, from a young woman in England, Valujavičius said, and he brought it back to Lithuania by truck to pack it with supplies, including enough food for 140 days.

In December 2022, Valujavičius said he and some friends flew to Spain while the boat made it via truck. They ended up living in Spain for about a month as they waited for the weather conditions to settle, he said.

Valujavičius said he set two goals from himself: Complete the trip in under 111 days, the current record for sailing the Atlantic Ocean mainland to mainland, and honor two Lithuanian pilots who attempted a 1933 flight from New York City to Lithuania but crashed in Poland, about 370 miles from their destination.

“They flew over the Atlantic and I rowed the Atlantic,” Valujavičius said.

On Dec. 26, 2022, Valujavičius said the weather conditions calmed down, so he sailed off from Ayamonte, Spain. The first three weeks were strange, he said, because he was alone on the water and he had to adjust to that feeling.

Rowing by ships was stressful, he said, because he had to account for a ship’s waves, as well as the elements, to ensure he was on the correct course. There were about five days where he had to use a parachute sea anchor to stay in place when the waves were either too high or pushing him backward, he said.

During the day, Valujavičius said he averaged about 55 nautical miles per day. At night, while he slept, the boat would drift about 25 nautical miles.

By about the fourth week, Valujavičius said, he got used to being on the water. He most enjoyed seeing the sunrise and sunset, and was surprised that each day he saw birds flying by.

But the best part, he said, was seeing whale tails flip above the water or water shoot up as a whale surfaced to breathe. One day, he saw a whale swimming by and he jumped in the water to snorkel near it. Another day, he said he saw about 40 dolphins swimming and jumping along.

“They come very close,” Valujavičius said. “The wildlife was the most satisfying thing.”

On April 25, Valujavičius reached Florida, ending his trip in 121 days, just 10 days longer than the world record. What slowed him down, he said, was less wind in the middle of the ocean, which worked against his nearly 1,700-pound boat.

When he rowed into Coral Gables, Florida, Valujavičius said about 300 people with Lithuanian flags were there to greet him and cheer him on.

“It was fun that the Lithuanian people came to celebrate me,” Valujavičius said.

Valujavičius flew back to Lithuania Saturday, and on Monday met with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, who gave him a Lithuanian flag.

He would sail the Atlantic again, Valujavičius said, but he’d also like to complete a new challenge: sailing the Pacific Ocean somewhere from the West Coast of the U.S. to Australia. But, for the next five years, as he completes other biking and kayaking adventures, he likely won’t be back in the ocean.

There’s just one thing he needs to decide on for his next adventure.

“I’m not sure on what continent I want to do it on,” Valujavičius said.