How’s this for a trans-Atlantic adventure? Chris Bertish, a 42-year-old world champion surfer, just left Morocco on a SUP (although a very tricked-out SUP) and plans to arrive in Miami some four months and 4,600 miles from now with stops in the Canaries and the BVI along the way. Oh, and Bertish, who’s already set some SUP distance records, will be doing this solo, all by himself, with no support from anyone at all. The last time anyone tried to do a solo trans-Atlantic on an SUP a year ago he had to be rescued after less than a day when his SUP capsized in rough water.
An all-around adventurer from South Africa, Bertish told The New York Times “I’ve been hearing that I’m nuts all my life, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Six years ago he won the Mavericks surfing contest in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, where waves reached as high as four-story buildings. More recently he’s set SUP records in South Africa and in Europe, when he crossed the English Channel in 5 hours and 26 minutes. “I’ve always wanted to push the boundaries, because that’s where the magic happens,” he says.
Bertish’s custom-designed, self-righting SUP is 20 feet long with a small waterproof cabin in front where he can sleep and even sit up; it also helps with buoyancy. The cabin contains a sat phone, a variety of VHFs, GPSs and EPIRBs, four extra paddles, a ditch bag and a life raft. Two sets of solar panels are on top. He’ll paddle mostly at night to avoid exposure to the sun and will subsist on protein shakes and freeze-dried meals. Aside from the adventure of it all, Bertish is trying to raise money for several charities in South Africa. That info is on his website, where you can track his progress:
