Chris Bertish

Chris Bertish is a South African surfer, stand-up paddleboarder, adventurer and motivational speaker. He first drew wide attention in 2004 for a giant closeout at the Cribbar big-wave spot in Cornwall, and in February 2010 he won the 50,000 dollar Mavericks big-wave surf contest near Half Moon Bay, California, after arriving without his equipment and borrowing a board. In 2016 and 2017 he made a solo, unsupported and unassisted crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on a stand-up paddle board, leaving Agadir in Morocco on 6 December 2016 and reaching English Harbour in Antigua on 9 March 2017 after 93 days. The journey raised money for South African children charities and earned him a Guinness World Record, along with a record for the greatest distance paddled solo in a day. He also holds open-ocean paddling records and has been honoured as a contributor to an Einstein-themed book project.