Cyril Derreumaux departed the coastal town of Sausalito, Calif. On May 31 for Hawaii on what was to be an epic 70-day voyage across the Pacific.

But his hopes of paddling solo from the mainland to the islands were cut short over the weekend by rough seas and high winds.

Derreumaux was rescued six days after his departure by a US Coast Guard helicopter. He had experienced several issues with his 23-foot (7-meter) kayak, but when he lost his sea anchor, he knew it was time to give up his adventure.

“It went from bad to worse very quickly after that,” he said. the chronicle of San Francisco from his home in Larkspur, California.

In a Facebook post, Derreumaux described an increasingly serious situation as his kayak was hit by 4.5-meter-high waves, the ship’s anchor lines tangled in the rudder, and his GPS stopped working. function.

“As we were working with my team on a solution to this electronic problem, the general behavior of my kayak suddenly changed, which I immediately attributed to a damaged sea anchor,” he wrote. “In a few moments my kayak was positioned almost parallel to the axis of the waves, and I found myself violently tossed from side to side, along with all the equipment that was stowed in the cabin.

He continued: “As night had just fallen, it was clear that the situation was not sustainable: the impossibility of eating, drinking, sleeping, communicating easily with my team ashore.

After consulting with his ground crew, Derreumaux called the coast guard for a rescue on Saturday night about 70 miles west of Santa Cruz. A diver was lowered from a helicopter into the water and helped hoist Derreumaux.

Derreumaux’s boat remains adrift in the ocean. He said he hopes to coordinate a recovery effort this week when the winds ease.

“I knew from the start that it would be a difficult thing,” Derreumaux, 44, wrote on Facebook. “I still have my passion for this adventure intact, and I’m still determined to make it happen … I won’t give up.”