Dave Cornthwaite
Amongst other things he has paddleboarded the length of the Mississippi, skateboarded across Australia, swum 1001 miles, written three books, stayed awake for 72 hours in a row without turning crazy, and for years has tried in vain to get Nutella to sponsor his adventures. But will he give up? Never!
With only 18 days to go until I jump in the South Dakotan Missouri and start a long swim to St Louis I find myself off the West Coast of the USA with a crowd of truly inspirational scientists, change-makers, adventurers and sportsmen and women. We’re paddling from Trestles to TJ, 70 miles of Southern Californian coastline, to raise awareness of water quality issues and the upcoming Riverview mapping service from Below the Surface
Beyond balancing the obvious core fitness benefits of a 70 mile SUP paddle with not getting too tired before a big expedition, I’m revelling in the get-up-and-go of the Trestles to TJ team. Kristian Gustavson and Jared Crisciolo, the founders of Below the Surface, National Geographic Photojournalist Shannon Switzer, SUP Yoga guru Lauren Peterson, Eco Warrior James Pribam and super-sparky Paddle With Purpose founder Jodie Nelson (who once had a pretty epic encounter with a whale named Larry), I’ve made new friends who were once nothing more than tiny little Facebook icons.
The paddle continues through to the 28th July, when the team will rest up this side of the Mexican border where the Tijuana River breaks into the Pacific.
Check out progress on www.facebook.com/explorebts and @belowthesurface, as well as my personal updates through www.facebook.com/expedition1000 and @DaveCorn
