No motor. No sail.

“I think the world needs inspiring stories, the world needs heroes,” said Chris. “I’m no different than any other human being. I’m just a normal individual with an extraordinary belief in myself, a passion for what I believe is my purpose, and the courage to follow it, hopefully leaving a positive impact on the world.”The following interview took place on March 11th, two days after Chris arrived in Antigua.Chris Bertish: I’m feeling great, I just want to go surfing [laughs]. This was definitely a different kind of fitness, but a friend said if I could pull this off and get to the other side alive, he’ll pay for my surf trip to Nias.To redefine man and everybody’s perception of what’s possible. To help people challenge themselves, follow their passions and achieve their goals and dreams. And to raise huge amounts of money for local charity initiatives that I’ve set up. This project isn’t just about raising 6.5 to 10 million rand, which will be paid out to the charities in the next couple weeks, but to feed 10,000 children every month for the next 25 years [via The Lunchbox Fund ], pay for cleft lip operations [through Operation Smile ], and [ Signature of Hope Trust ] is going to build five to eight schools to educate and inspire future leaders, doctors, lawyers and teachers for generations to follow. That is an incredible legacy to leave behind, and that was the driving force for me with this project. No matter what it was going to take, I knew I had to get to the other side because I had the lives of millions of kids on my shoulders. The world records and paddling across the Atlantic Ocean are just details for me.I’m an ambassador for turtle rehabilitation [with Two Oceans Aquarium ]. We catch and release and rehab turtles in South Africa, and I do a lot of ocean conservation work with aquariums around the world. Turtles and a lot of other creatures follow the flow of the current and the winds to be able to cross the Atlantic Ocean — the same path as those old spice routes sailors used to take from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean.My opinion about the ocean is that you’ve always gotta be in sync to utilize it to help you, rather than trying to fight against it. You’ve gotta be in flow and utilize the positive impact of the currents to help you get to your destination, and you’ve gotta be flexible and adaptable to change. You overcome obstacles by having the right positive mental attitude to keep on going, to take action and never give up.Not much in the beginning, because the craft was really heavy. I was carrying a lot of extra water and food. I got pretty used to it by the time I was a month away from finishing and started catching a couple runners. I had to be very careful, because the open ocean I was working in is very different to the downwinders that I usually track back home in coastal areas. This is all open-ocean, six-meter waves, so if you take off, on purpose or by mistake, down a wave and you broach, the likelihood of you having a negative outcome — either injuring yourself or damaging your craft — is pretty high. I had to be very mindful about managing myself, the craft, the speed and not catching bigger waves. I hit a top speed of over 14.6 knots and started to achieve over 50 nautical miles on a regular basis — setting the 24-hour world record, breaking it the next day, and breaking that record the following day without even stopping [open ocean distance of 71.96 miles]. In the last 48 hours I clocked over 125 nautical miles, which is just ridiculous to be perfectly honest.I wasn't tethered to my paddles. I had four paddles and never lost one, but I was tethered to my craft with a waist harness, and at all times with one of my big-wave leashes. I was also tethered to the steering system, rudder and centerboard, so that if I fell off, it would pull the craft to the steering system side, stop and turn into the wind.Yeah, there were a lot of times. I think one of the key aspects of the success of this project is having incredible mental strength to not have a meltdown in certain circumstances. The enormous mental and emotional stress, coupled with the physical drain of trying to paddle 10 to 15 hours a day, while having to still do captain’s logs and manage the route, managing hydration, food consumption and the systems… It was almost overwhelming, just trying to stay alive.I never slept more than an hour and a half at a time. My mind got programmed, so every hour and a half I would wake up at night and check my systems. Because I’m a big-wave surfer, my mind was constantly calibrating the sound outside the craft when I was meant to be sleeping. I was constantly analyzing the waves, whether they would reform and hit the side of the craft. There were a lot of times when the wind was 30-40 knots, and the four to six-meter waves were so heavy and breaking so hard, that when they hit the side of the craft I was knocked over and sideways and thrown across the inside of the craft. I had to learn how to brace myself inside this little cabin that wasn’t even as wide as my shoulders, and understand which waves were going to break just by their sound outside without even being able to see it. When you have big waves hit your craft so violently that it feels like it’s going to disintegrate, that’s a pretty scary place to be.I think it had a huge significance, because there are very few people that are comfortable with being in what most people would consider a life-threatening, volatile, weather environment. From my big-wave surfing background, I have become relatively comfortable in really adverse conditions and fatigue states like that. I also have a really solid sailing foundation, and I think the navigation I’ve done in my transatlantic sailing prepared me. Because I’ve done this crossing before, I was aware of the elements I was going to get along that journey. But the craft I was on was so small and so close to the water that I was constantly underwater or having the waves breaking over the craft or me. That’s what a lot of people don’t understand — the magnitude of the sea and the elements on such a small craft. You are so insignificant out there.I became so in tune with my craft and the elements, I almost became like one of the sea creatures — part of the ocean — and I learned to flow with it. I created this whole little ocean family that followed me along my journey. Every couple days or when the weather was good, I’d dive over the side and have a morning swim and go visit and say hi to “Stripe,” my little friend. These beautiful yellowfin tuna, which I called my “sentinel wolf pack,” would swim with me in the morning, and then they’d go hunting during the day and chase the flying fish. I fell in love with the dolphinfish, they became this absolute fascination for me. I swam with dolphins and whales, and I had great white sharks almost come up and attack me. I was bumped by sharks. Then there was the bird life, riding the waves and the wind. Oftentimes I would just stand on the craft without a paddle in my hand, and just stare in awe and take it all in.The Maverick’s event was the pinnacle of my big-wave surfing career, something I’d been working toward for 15 years. Everything I’ve done in my life has helped guide, mold and shape me towards being prepared for this ultimate goal. But I think that [finishing] this was the ultimate day of my life because it took the Maverick’s day and just magnified it tenfold, realizing the impact it made on millions of people and the impact it’s going to make for generations to follow. The legacy of this project is just mind-boggling. I think that’s what separates this project from winning Maverick’s. That event was a personal goal: to win a big-wave surfing competition against the world’s best. This project was more about believing in what is possible and changing the lives of millions of people. Having paddled the Atlantic Ocean and setting world records, that became sort of insignificant. It’s all about the legacy and the positive impact it’s made on many people around the world.My dad has always been my ultimate inspiration, hero, mentor and legend. This project is a tribute to him and everything he tried to teach me about being a good human being, and I think we fulfilled that in this project. Also, my brothers. I’ve got an amazing team behind me, and I would not have been able to pull this off without them. My routing and weather forecasting guy, Leven Brown, who I was on the satellite phone with every couple days, was absolutely phenomenal. Plus, all the people I’ve always looked up to, the adventurers of our time. Richard Branson is an inspiration to me as an adventurer, entrepreneur and businessman. And all the people that really followed my journey, sending me messages of appreciation to get me through difficult times.To learn more: http://www.thesupcrossing.com



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