A south African man is in the planning stages of what could be the worlds first Atlantic Ocean crossing by stand up paddle board. Chris Bertish hopes to make the journey in November 2016, but wishes he could leave tomorrow!

If he pulls it off, it will be over 7000km paddled from Morocco to Miami, and he’s planning on making the trek completely unassisted. Sleeping inside a specially designed stand up paddle board, he’ll also be carrying enough freeze dried food for the journey (four months!), a water maker and navigation equipment to make sure he’s paddling in the right direction.

A far cry from his past days of big wave surfing, and more recent cruising journey across the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Chris is confident that he’ll complete the journey.

“I’ve sailed this passage before, I know the water, I know the route. The board’s been designed; I wish I were leaving tomorrow.”

Keeping the specifics of his boards design close to his chest, Chris Bertish did let slip a few details on some unique features in a recent interview. With water ballast tanks to enhance stability in rough conditions, small sleeping quarters and solar panels to charge his navigation equipment, this board is certainly not your average downwinder!

“At night, I can crawl down into the hull, pull a cover over myself and I’m sealed into the board.” Told Bertish, “The board can withstand storms at sea, it won’t be comfortable but it will keep me dry and safe through anything I’ll run into out there.”

Nothing like sleeping inside your stand up paddle board for four months, while you cross the Atlantic Ocean day and night… Keep up to date with Chris Bertish’s attempt to cross the Atlantic ocean in November 2016 through his website here, and of course we’ll keep you updated!

#News #StandUpPaddle #Paddling #Surfing #Delta