Man becomes world-first to cross Atlantic Ocean on Paddle Board

The South African Chris Bertish became the first man to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a stand-up paddle board.

Chris Bertish paddled an estimated two million strokes to travel solo from Morocco to Antigua in just 93 days. The milestone marks a triumphant close to the final chapter of a journey that began in Morocco.

The big-wave surfer and Guinness World Record holder crossed 4,500 nautical miles, setting off from Agadir, Morocco, on December 6 and arriving at English Harbour, Antigua, on the morning of March 9, CNN Reported.

Chris Bertish has made history & will be changing the futures of millions of children.

In a note on his Facebook page, Bertish wrote that his last 72 days had been some of his most harrowing. Weather and exhaustion worked against him. He had been surviving on freeze-dried meals for nearly three months. Waves threatened to swamp him, and he had several run-ins with sharks who tested the material of his board to see if it was edible, National Geographic Reported.

Bertish averaged 44 miles a day, mostly at night to avoid exposure to the sun and alternated between resting and paddling every two or three hours.

“I’ve been paddling alone, solo, in the open ocean, for 93 days. I’ve covered over 4050NM/ 7500km.”

“I saw everything,” said Bertish. “Every type of animal you want to see, every type of animal you don’t want to see.”

A South African sailor and big-wave surfer, Chris Bertish, bearded and shirtless, paddled toward Antigua’s English Harbour more than three months after leaving Africa, successfully finishing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a stand-up paddle board.