On the 14th of September 2017 athlete Stelios Moustakalis crossed the Thermaic Gulf on his Cohete R1 12’6" Race SUP from the area of Axios to Angelochori. The conditions on the day, a slight Northerly wind of 2.5-3 Beaufort with calm sea conditions. The distance of 8.7km was not so much a challenge for Stelios (as he has accomplished greater distances in other SUP events), but the challenge was paddling out into open sea and over busy shipping lines. Around 500m into the paddle Stelios came across strong right sided currents that forced him to paddle mostly with left sided paddles. After an hour and ten minutes of paddling Stelios completed the challenge. The aim of this challenge, was to bring awareness to the sport of SUP, and as Stelios says “The meaning of this challenge for me is to bring more of the sport to northern Greece and for people to understand the sport better. It’s not so much an extreme sport but more of a complete way of exercising within nature.” This challenge would not have been possible with out the help from Stelios’ supporters Aetos Athletic Club, Cohete Surfboards, Jeep Antonelis and the Hellenic Coast Guard who supervised the event.
