Novice sailor survives solo ocean crossing. Watch dozens of dolphins guide him
A novice sailor with Tri-Cities roots has successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean — with limited navigation tools — after several weeks at sea.
But he’s not stopping there. Kimmer O’Reilly, 33, says that journey was “just tryouts.”
“And now that it’s done, I get to start the actual crazy journey,” he told his 33,000 YouTube subscribers from the beaches of Barbados.
After repairing and remodeling his 34-foot, 1970 Sparkman and Stephens yacht, O’Reilly plans to take on a “nonstop, circumnavigation of the globe” in February 2026 — the first of three “major expeditions.”
He plans to call Puerto Rico home for a time until then and plans to publish more footage of his journey to YouTube, he said in an email to the Tri-City Herald.
O’Reilly can be seen sailing alongside a pod of dolphins, at least two dozen strong, in a video posted Friday.
“Oh, this is a whole gang,” he says from the bow, trying to count each fin. “This is definitely the most I’ve seen in one setting... You guys are so damn cool.”
He even caught footage of one leaping several feet into the air.
Cancer survivor goes on ‘greatest adventure’
O’Reilly set sail from Chichester, England, on Feb. 22 on a boat he bought “sight unseen” off social media for about $26,000.
On his website, he calls his Atlantic crossing the “prequel [to] the greatest adventure in human history.”
O’Reilly graduated from Southridge High School in Kennewick, Washington, in 2010. He worked as a real estate agent and general contractor in the Tri-Cities’ booming housing market prior to his water expedition.
After a five-year bout with blood cancer, O’Reilly says he couldn’t return to a desk job.
During treatment at a “cancer house” at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, he was inspired by Jessica Watson’s attempted solo circumnavigation by boat and watched her Netflix biopic, “True Spirit,” and later read her book.
“I don’t know why it connected with me, but I thought, ‘I want to do this.’ For whatever reason, the thought of me doing this got me excited,” he told the Tri-City Herald in a previous interview. “I kind of want to get out there and prove that I can still do things.”
He has very little experience sailing, but spent months researching and preparing for his maiden voyage.
Few people attempt solo expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean. That’s because the feat is quite taxing — both physically and mentally — on even the most experience skippers.
Even simple mistakes can quickly turn lethal.
Sailors can face dangers associated with sleep deprivation, rough weather and sea conditions, medical emergencies, equipment failure and falling overboard.
