Chris Bertish is a South African surfer, stand-up paddleboarder, adventurer, and

motivational speaker A motivational speaker (or inspirational speaker) is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep ta ...

. In 2004 he gained recognition as the owner of 'Best Cribbar Barrel Vision Ever' after he pulled into a giant closeout at the infamous big wave spot in Cornwall. He won the Mavericks Big Wave Surf contest in 2009. In March 2017 he completed the first solo, unsupported stand-up paddle board (SUP) crossing of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. He did it while supporting charitable organizations. He has also set other SUP world records. His efforts moved an obscure sport onto the forefront of many important media outlets.

Background

In February 2010, Bertish competed at the 2009/10 Mavericks Surf Contest near

Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Immediately north of Half Mo ...

, Northern California, winning the $50,000 big-wave surf competition. Watched by 50,000 spectators, the contestants experienced waves in excess of . Bertish arrived at the competition without his equipment and had to borrow a board to compete. In 2016, a failed attempt at crossing the Atlantic on a stand-up paddleboard occurred. The boat was piloted by Nicholas Jarossay, a French citizen who was rescued a week into his trip.

Solo Atlantic crossing

In a 93-day trek, Bertish successfully completed a solo, unassisted and unaided crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on a stand up paddle board, going from Morocco to Antigua. The feat was the culmination of five years of preparation. On 6 December 2016, Bertish set out from a marina in

Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, in a custom-built stand-up paddle craft on a journey of and 120 days across the

to the Caribbean island of

Anegada Anegada is the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It lies about north of Virgin Gorda. Anegada is the only inhabited British Virgin Island formed from ...

in the

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

. His $120,000 craft was designed by

Phil Morrison Phil Morrison may refer to: * Phil Morrison (yacht designer) (born 1946), British yacht designer * Phil Morrison (director), American film and television director * Phil Morrison (driver) (born 1977), British race driver * Phil Morrison (basebal ...

, a

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

, and resembles a connected row-boat and a stand-up paddle board, called ImpiFish. It weighed , which Bertish now considers to have been "too light." It had a "number of technological amenities such as a satellite phone, a radar device, a MacBook, a water maker" carrying the amount of fresh water he needed was impractical. On 9 March 2017, he arrived in

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

English Harbour English Harbour is a natural harbour and settlement on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean, in the extreme south of the island. The settlement takes its name from the nearby harbour in which the Royal Navy established its base of operations fo ...

becoming the first person to cross the Atlantic on a stand-up paddle board. He made the journey unsupported and unassisted in 93 days. Initially he wanted to continue to Florida, but due to forecasted poor weather made his landfall in Antigua. The craft was self-righting if it capsized, avoiding the possibility of turtling. Gear included a

life raft A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts ( liferafts) are also used. In the m ...

flares A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...

, and an emergency grab bag. An integral part of maintaining stability in adverse weather was the use of

sea anchor A sea anchor (also known as a parachute anchor, drift anchor, drift sock, para-anchor or boat brake) is a device that is streamed from a boat in heavy weather. Its purpose is to stabilize the vessel and to limit progress through the water. Rathe ...

s. Bertish averaged a day, surpassing his planned daily. Paddling was mainly done at night to avoid

sun exposure Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include erythema, red or reddish sk ...

. The attempt was made in order to raise money for several South African charities to feed, school and provide medical operations for children and succeeded in raising $412,000. The charities include Signature of Hope Trust, the Lunchbox Foundation and Operation Smile. The attempt had been sponsored by the financial group Carrick Wealth. In addition to gaining the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for being the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a stand-up paddle board, Bertish also set another world record during the attempt by travelling the furthest distance solo, unsupported and unassisted over open ocean in a day of . In fact, he set at least three world records during the crossing; and promised to pay for a charitable surgery for each of them.

Adventurer

Previously he completed a 3½-day paddle and a "source to sea" run-paddle-bike descent of the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

, with an

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

SUP bonus crossing. Unofficially and off the South African coast, he set the world record for 12-hour open ocean paddling, covering almost aided by "great downwind conditions." The previous record was held by an American.

Honours

Bertish has been chosen, as one of 100 visionary people, to contribute a 250 word essay to be included in a 3D book. The 3D book will be designed by artist Ron Arad and will be a world first and printed in zero gravity. Called, ''Genius: 100 Visions of the Future'', it is organised by the Albert Einstein Foundation Initiative for the Inspired by Einstein Project. In 2018, South African artist, Michael Lee, painted three large oil paintings to commemorate the transatlantic crossing, ''Atlantic Solo'', featuring Bertish battling a storm at night, with a reference to Hokusai's ''Great Wave'' image, ''Atlantic Soul'' showing the SUP champion in equilibrium with a calm ocean and various aquatic creatures, and ''Atlantic Epic'', illustrating Bertish's arrival at the Pillars of Hercules in Antigua to complete the epic journey.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

Track Chris Bertish Live Tracker Map
The SUP Crossing.
Chris Bertish promotional video