LAST KNOWN COORDINATES

One man. 93 days alone at sea. 4050 miles.

When big wave surfer Chris Bertish decided he would stand up paddle across the Atlantic Ocean, completely alone and unsupported, his friends and family thought he may have gone crazy, while his fans openly suggested he’d die trying. But Bertish was a man sustained by some deep well of motivation. He had already proved himself as an elite extreme athlete by winning the Mavericks Big Wave competition, arguably the biggest accolade in the dangerous sport. But his next endeavor had never even been attempted. It would take him putting everything on the line just to get onto the water, and from there he faced a new reality; the constant struggle of trying to stay alive on a tiny craft in the middle of a massive ocean with only a paddle and himself to rely on…

Director Statement: When Chris Bertish first started talking about wanting to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a SUP craft, alone and with only his small paddle to power him, most people, ourselves included, thought it was crazy. In the lead-up to his launch, there was a palpable feeling that things could end badly. But Chris Bertish had an unwavering belief in himself and his purpose and could not be deterred. Yet, it was not the questions of ‘if’ or ‘how’ Bertish would cross the Atlantic Ocean that initially drew directors Chris Mason and Luke Mason to the idea of making a film about his journey. For the Mason Brothers, a deeper question burnt; why? What drives a person to stand up paddle solo from Africa to North America? When exec producer Bruce Macdonald approached Joe Piscatella to be a part of the filmmaking team, he felt as overwhelmed as Chris Bertish did when he first paddled away from the African shoreline. How do we tell this story? That was Joe’s first question. There was no shortage of on-screen adventure with the constant terror of leaks, storms and sharks. But as the directors got to know Chris Bertish, they came to understand that this was not just a story about one man’s epic quest to set a world record; this was a story about a man who believed he could change the world was willing to sacrifice almost everything in his attempt to do so, and that was a story worth telling.

Special Guest: Christ Bertish

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