Man Paddles 2,900 Miles Alone From California to Hawaii to Raise Awareness About Ocean Pollution

A Spanish man paddled more than 2,900 miles from San Francisco to Honolulu to raise awareness about marine pollution. (Photo Credit: Antonio de la Rosa / Facebook)

A man recently paddled more than 2,900 miles from California to Hawaii to raise awareness about ocean pollution and encourage people to recycle.

Antonio de la Rosa completed the 2,951-mile solo trip from San Francisco to Honolulu in 76 days on a stand-up paddleboard, which was equipped with a water desalinator, food, a sleeping area, and solar panels to help power his communications equipment and GPS, Newsweek reported.

 

De la Rosa, who runs a Spain-based adventure tourism company, said the paddleboat weighed over 1,500 pounds and didn’t come with a motor, so he had to use his arms and legs during the trip. His journey, which was documented over Facebook Live, required him to paddle for eight to ten hours a day.

De la Rosa said the hardest part of the trip was traveling through coastal waters.

“The current and winds are hard and it’s so difficult to get out of the coast,” De la Rosa told KHON-TV. “I had 10 days with problems very close the coast.”

Along the way, De la Rosa noticed a lot of garbage next to his paddleboard, including plastic fishing nets, which may have been part of the Great Pacific garbage patch, a large area of the ocean where fishing gear, litter, microplastics, and marine debris form a “whirlpool” from ocean pollution, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

De la Rosa took the trip to educate others on the consequences of ocean pollution. His paddleboard reads “SAVE the OCEAN. No plastics, NO nets, RECYCLE.” He hopes that his solo journey will inspire others to pursue more sustainable practices and work together to curb ocean pollution, which negatively impacts marine life, the San Fransisco Chronicle noted.

De la Rosa, who claims he’s the first person to stand-up paddle board across the Pacific Ocean, has previously participated in extreme ocean trips, including crossing the Atlantic by himself in a rowboat in 2014 and paddling through the Arctic Circle three years ago.

More on Geek.com:

• Baby Dugong That Became Internet Star Dies After Ingesting Plastic
• Humans Consume More Than 70,000 Plastic Particles a Year
• Scientist Creates Bioplastic From Mango Peels and Seaweed

Source: https://www.geek.com/news/man-paddles-2900-miles-alone-from-california-to-hawaii-to-raise-awareness-about-ocean-pollution-1802077/?source
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Genevieve Scarano

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