, 50, of Flushing, New York marked the end of his Goree Challenge, which made him the first African-American to row across the Atlantic Ocean by releasing his boat, Spirit of Malabo to Equatorial Guinea today.

Equatorial Guinea was the sponsor of Mr. Mooney’s Brazilian made ocean rowboat, with the personal support from H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, The President. On a fourth try, Mr. Mooney successfully rowed from Las Palmas, Canary Islands to New York’s Brooklyn Bridge. His mission was in honor of his brother that died of AIDS and to encourage voluntary HIV testing.

After the UNGA, H.E. Anatolio Ndong Mba, Ambassador for the Permanent Mission of Equatorial Guinea to the United Nations will begin the process of gifting the rowboat to the UN.

In a small way, the Spirit of Malabo also honored the countless numbers of Africans who were dumped in the Atlantic Ocean during the transatlantic slave trade, said Victor Mooney.