“Everything that I do is about inspiring positive change and helping others believe in and realize their own greatest potential.” – Chris Bertish
South African speaker, author, surfer, conservationist, and ocean pioneer, Chris Bertish, will be sharing the details of his incredible world-first, solo, Stand Up Paddle, Trans-Atlantic Crossing adventure with audiences at the Durban Surf Lifesaving Club on Saturday, 18 February. There are limited tickets available for the launch of his new book, All In! which will include a book signing, a film screening of his latest film, Last Known Coordinates, and a Q&A session with this inspiring adventurer.
Over the years, Bertish has achieved multiple Stand Up Paddle world records – and Guinness World Records – as well as surfing giant, four-storey-sized waves, winning the Mavericks Big Wave Invitational, an XXL Paddle Award, and multiple Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitations. His daring actions are not only set to inspire a worldwide audience, but allow him to serve as an ambassador for positive ocean and climate change through his various projects and expeditions, through his USA-based non-profit (501 3C); The Chris Bertish Foundation.
He is renowned for shifting boundaries and shattering perceptions of what’s possible while using his stories, business, and adventures to effect positive change. After winning the world’s most prestigious big wave surfing title at Mavericks, Bertish announced his next conquest would be an attempt to become the first person to stand up paddle board across the Atlantic, from Africa to North America, completely solo and unsupported.
Audiences at the book launch will get the chance to witness, first-hand, how Bertish managed to pull off this seemingly impossible feat during this exclusive screening of Last Known Coordinates. Putting his life and everything else on the line, he sets out from Morocco with 95 days’ worth of food and a solar-powered desalinator to turn seawater into drinking water.
His latest book, All In! further details this epic undertaking which saw him spend 93 days alone at sea, crossing the Atlantic Ocean unsupported, 7 500 kilometres from Morocco to Antigua, all the while paddling a modified Stand Up Paddle craft. This is an intimate account of his battles through epic storms, equipment failures, shark encounters, injuries, leaks, loneliness, and coming to grips with his father’s death in his quest to test the limits of what is truly possible.
Readers of All In! will enjoy an in-depth account that delves further into Bertish’s backstory, outlining this challenging journey and providing much-needed inspiration in these trying times. The book underscores Bertish’s mantra that nothing is impossible, and highlights his mission to use his unusual skill set to raise money for Africa’s impoverished children and pay for hundreds of cleft palate operations through Operation Smile.
Don’t miss out on this life-changing tale!
All In! is also the first ever 5-star sustainability-rated book in South Africa, being made with FSC-certified paper in an FSC-certified facility that follows sustainable practices and production. All printing is solar-powered, while also planting an All In! forest in the Platbos Reserve to offset the carbon footprint of this book. This is an example of positive change for the future and how the creation and printing of all books should be carried out moving forward.
As Bertish explains: “The world is changing and we have to change with it. Be the change we want to see in the world, now, not in 10 years’ time.”
Book Launch and Film screening details
Date: Saturday, 18 February
Venue: Durban Surf Lifesaving Club, Snell Parade, North Beach.
Times: 6pm to 9.30pm which includes Book & film intro by Chris himself, with the Last Known Coordinates film screening, book sales & signing, along with a Q&A with the audience and ZigZag owner and chief editor, Andy Davis.
Tickets: R220 per person (50% of the entry fee raised goes towards Durban Surf Lifesaving Club). Tickets are purchased at the door via cash or card. The cost is R300 for a personally signed copy of Bertish’s best-selling book All In!
