A 35-year-old American was within a few miles Friday of becoming the first person ever to cross the perilous, shark-infested Straits of Florida on a stand-up paddleboard.
At midday (1600 GMT), Benjamin Friberg — who set off the day before from Havana — was reported to be five miles (less than 10 kilometers) from Key West, Florida, the US Coast Guard station there told AFP.
“He’s still making his way right now,” with a support catamaran alongside, a Coast Guard officer said.
Friberg, a smooth-jazz musician and extreme sports enthusiast from the US state of Tennessee, had been hoping to make the 105-mile crossing in about 20 hours when he set off from the Marina Hemingway in the Cuban capital.
“This trip is to promote peace and love and friendship between the people of Cuba and the United States, as well as a healthy lifestyle,” he said prior to departure.
In the past two years three swimmers have tried — and failed — to make the hazardous crossing.
In June 2011 a Miami Beach lifeguard made the crossing by paddleboard in just over 29 hours, but in a prone position and starting a few miles off the Cuban shore.
Cuba-to-US paddleboarder nears Florida goal
