Stand-Up Paddleboarder Completes 28-Hour Voyage To Key West
FLORIDA KEYS (CBSMiami/FKNB) - It's no easy feat to stand-up paddleboard for hours on end. On Friday, a 35-year-old man from Tennessee who left off Cuba's waters Thursday, completed over 100-miles of paddleboarding when he arrived Friday afternoon in Key West.
left the marina near Havana at about noon Thursday and arrived in Key West some 28 hours and six minutes later.
Ben Friberg, a musician from Chattanooga, set out from Marina Hemingway near Havana Thursday for a paddleboarding voyage that no other, thus far, has completed before. Last June Cynthia Aguilar, a lifeguard from Miami Beach, completed the trip but lying down (prone position).
SLIDESHOW: Friberg's Arrival In Key West
Friberg arrived in Key West, completing his 111-mile voyage, Friday afternoon, about 28 hours later.
Shortly after noon Friday, Friberg was about 87-miles from his starting point and approximately 14-miles southwest of the eastern portion of Key West's Smathers Beach, where Friberg arrived.
Friberg had a boat, named Sunluver, supporting him along the paddle as well as a team that includes a navigator and a medic.
"Ben had some tough conditions." Bob Olin, the captain of the boat said over cellphone early Friday. "It's tougher than he thought -- than we thought -- but we're going to make it."
Olin said Friberg, despite the challenge, was doing well and was strong.
This isn't Friberg's first long-distance paddeboarding challenge. In June of 2012 he took a 238 mile paddling voyage down the Yukon River in Canada's Yukon Territory.
"The Florida Keys News Bureau contributed to this report."
