Listening to the music of Johnny Clegg on speakers mounted to his custom-built craft, the South African Chris Bertish began his attempt to be the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a stand-up paddleboard on Tuesday morning, gliding out of the Agadir Marina of Morocco, on the northwest coast of Africa, shortly before sunrise.
“I’ve been hearing that I’m nuts all my life, and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Bertish said in a phone interview before he departed on the solo voyage. “I’ve been proving people wrong all of my life. But I’ve always wanted to push the boundaries because that’s where the magic happens.”
Image: Chris Bertish off the coast of Morocco on Tuesday. He plans to make a 4,600-mile, open-ocean passage unsupported and unassisted in his 20-foot craft. Credit Alan van Gysen, courtesy of The SUP Crossing
