A man in Tanzania is believed to be the first person to have paddle-boarded from the mainland to the isles of Zanzibar, crossing 42 kilometres of ocean.
Glenn Davies faced three metre waves, and fell off his board more than 30 times. But he made it.
Even at the best of times, the ocean is relentless. But imagine taking it on for six hours while standing up. This is believed to be the first person to paddleboard from Tanzania mainland to Zanzibar.
CGTN Africa had one question for him: “Why?”
“I thought that sounds like a challenge for me! It’s the idea that you can surf, you can see. It’s just such a good view up here,” said Davies.
He paddled for 42 kilometres, facing waves two times the size of himself. And after being knocked off more than thirty times, he started to have a few doubts.
“Yeah about four hours in, when the waves were at their peak. And I was watching a sports boat come out of the water by about four or five feet. Then I thought: ah, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
It was part of an organised trip with kayakers and yachts, but he was the only paddleboarder.
But very wet and a little battered, he finally saw Zanzibar.
“By that stage, the sea had calmed down. The other paddlers had arrived. It was such a sense of accomplishment and achievement touching that beach.”
And so now he has returned to land, there’s another question: “What will he do next?” His family are no doubt dreading the answer.
