World Record Attempt For SAS

Events 18th – 25th jun 2010

Three of Britains best stand up paddleboarders were at West Wittering windsurf club at 11am this Friday, 29th January to launch the Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) 2010 Challenge, a Guinness World Record breaking attempt to cross the English Channel in June this year that also aims to raise at least 10,000 for SASs campaigns and celebrate the organisations 20th anniversary.

Matt Argyle (Chairman of the British Stand Up Paddle Association

(BSUPA) and ranked 2nd in the UK for stand up paddleboarding), Claire Blacklock (UK womens stand up paddleboard champion) and Simon Bassett (BSUPA head coach) will be joined in June by longboarding champion Elliot Dudley and UK stand up paddleboarding champion Jock Patterson for the crossing attempt, which could see them break a Guinness World Record along the way.

In the first event of its kind, the paddleboarders will set off from Dover and aim to arrive in Calais around five hours later, having completed the crossing of the worlds busiest shipping lane. The event will be taking place between 18th-25th of June, with the paddlers waiting for the best tide and weather conditions in which to make the 21-mile crossing. If the paddlers are successful they will be the first stand up paddleboard team to have ever crossed the English Channel, and could potentially break the record for the fastest paddleboard crossing as well.

The Guinness World Record for crossing the English Channel by paddleboard currently stands at five hours and nine minutes, and was set by US paddler Michael O’Shaughnessy in 2006.

The event has been put together by SAS with the support of BSUPA, and the paddlers aim to raise at least 10,000 in sponsorship money to support SASs campaigns to protect surfers and waveriders, waves and beaches around the UK. If you would like sponsor the 2010 Challenge please go to www.justgiving.com/2010challenge and make a donation. You can also check out the paddlers training blog on www.supglobal.com.