Photos courtesy of the SUP Crossing, Chris Bertish and Alan Van Gysen
Paddling across any body of water–without a motor, mind you–is no easy task. But crossing the Atlantic, with its centuries-old history of sinking sea-worthy vessels is another beast all together. But Chris Bertish has no qualms about doing just that. It’s an expedition the 42-year-old has been working on for several years.
This year, however, the stars have aligned and the South African is off and paddling. Bertish, who won the Mavericks contest in 2010, is using a custom, 20-foot SUP that looks more like a small boat to cross from Morrocco to Florida, completely unassisted and self-supported. He’s currently about 48 hours in, heading towards the Canary Islands, the Spanish-controlled archipelago off Northern Africa. He’ll then start the meat of his journey across the great sea to the British Virgin Islands and then on to Florida. The entire mission will total some 4,600 miles and change.
Bertish’s SUP is shaped like a small sailing vessel because, well, it has to be to make the mission. It was designed by Phil Morrison, a British naval architect and carries a $120,000 price tag. It has a compartment where he can sleep and actually sit up and is also equipped with weather forecasting equipment, locator and GPS systems, water storage bladders, anchors and solar panels for his batteries to power on-board electronics. Its design allows it to self-right in case of capsize, a danger that derailed the last Transatlantic SUP mission by Frenchman Nicolas Jarossay, who was rescued earlier this year during the first week of his attempt, clinging to his overturned craft.
“This has been a 4-year project in the making and lifetime of preparation and I’m ready,” he said in a release. “My specialized SUP craft is incredible, I have an amazing team behind me, supporting me from land and an unbelievable support from friends and people all around the world for this incredible journey, which is going to change the lives of millions of children in Africa, which is what will keep driving and inspiring me right till the end.”
Bertish has made raising funds for The Lunchbox Fund, Operation Smile and Signature of Hope his main mission, all of which benefit underprivileged children. He hopes to raise more than a million dollars.
His expedition is not without precedence: Aleksander Doba, a Polish kayaker, has crossed the Atlantic twice in a super-modified kayak, first from Senegal to Brazil which took him 99 days and the second, from Portugal to Florida which required 167 days, 47 of which he had no contact with the outside world. One of the gnarliest kayak missions ever was Ed Gillet’s 1987 Pacific Ocean mission from Monterey, California to Kailua, Maui in a stock kayak that was supposed to last 40 days. It ended up going on for 63 in some seriously rough ocean where Gillet had no contact with the outside world and reportedly survived on toothpaste in the final days of his journey.
Bertish’s mission, if he completes it, will certainly stand up against any of these feats.
Follow Bertish on his Facebook page, here and his actual progress, here.
