Man Commutes to New York City by Kayak

Nov. 8, 2012 — -- quicklist: 1title: text: Superstorm Sandy hit the Northeast more than a week ago, but this week commuters still found themselves grappling with the consequences of the storm: Crowded public transportation and lines at the gas pump made getting to work a far greater hassle than usual.

At least one man, however, managed to avoid post-Sandy commuting woes. He just did what he'd done long before the storm -- commute by kayak.

Zach Schwitzky lives in Hoboken, N.J., a city that sits just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. While most Hoboken residents get to their New York-based jobs by bus, ferry or PATH train -- an interstate subway line -- Schwitzky, 29, prefers to paddle his way to work across the Hudson on a 15-foot kayak.

READ: Nor'easter Sets Back Recovery From Superstorm Sandy

He's been doing it for most of the past year, after getting fed up with other transit options.

"It's probably the most relaxing part of my day," he said.

But when he gets ashore, the commute isn't over. He spends the next 20 minutes on foot, hauling the kayak on a hand cart down city blocks to his office in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea.

"It's funny to see people's reactions when you are dragging a 15-foot-boat through the streets of Manhattan," he said.

The founder of the tech start-up Newlio, Schwitzky can leave the boat in the foyer of the company's office. He's the boss, so no one objects.

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quicklist: 2title: Dog-Sledding to Worktext: Brent Sass, a dog sled racer from Eureka, Alaska, takes his passion with him to work -- literally. Instead of using a car, Sass, 32, can commute to jobs with his dog sled team. Sass' jobs include guiding mushing expeditions and working at a gold mine.

There's "no better way to commute to work [than] by dog team," Sass wrote on his YouTube channel.

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quicklist: 3title: Over Dirt Roads and a Rivertext: Kimberly Hanson's strange commute earned her the top prize in a 2009 World's Worst Commute contest sponsored by the motor oil company Quaker State.

On the first leg of her trip Hanson, of Salt Springs, Fla., drove a four-wheel-drive Jeep over a bumpy, seven-mile dirt road and sometimes got stuck in deep mud. On the second leg, she would wait for up to half an hour for the arrival of a tugboat ferry to carry her and her vehicle across a river. Then, after that, she drove another 15 miles on country roads to get to her job at a nursing home.

"It's over the river and through the woods to see the grandmas I go," she said in a YouTube clip.