A daredevil dad has taken to the water in his 3.3-foot boat for the first time before undertaking a mission to sail 1,900 miles across the Atlantic.
Andrew Bedwell, 48, made the maiden voyage in his tiny self-built fiberglass vessel, "BIG C," at the port of Whitehaven in Cumbria, England, last week.
The intrepid sailor plans to depart from Newfoundland, Canada, in May next year to glide across the open sea.
During his first trip out, the experienced mariner gave his support boat the "thumbs up" from his cramped cockpit, which is just big enough to accommodate his 6-foot frame.
He seemed at ease in the tiny ship ahead of the massive transatlantic crossing, which he compared to being "stuck in a wheelie bin, on a rollercoaster for 90 days."
Bedwell plans to depart from Newfoundland and ride the trade winds to Lizards Point in Cornwall on England's southwestern coast.
He came up with the idea for the trip after reading a book by Hugo Vihlen, who made the perilous passage in a 5-foot 4-inch boat 30 years ago.
His boat is about 1.6 feet shorter than the last record-breaking small boat to make the journey across the Atlantic and has a top speed of just 2.5 mph.
Throughout his expected three-month crossing, he'll survive off a cold protein-rich substance that's molded around the internal walls of the boat to save space.
The thrill-seeking father-of-one admitted his wife thinks he's "crackers" but said he wanted to achieve something "amazing" before he turned 50.
"I always like to have a real challenge on the go - although my wife quite often feels I'm crackers - but I said before I'm 50, I want to have done something amazing," he said.
"All my life, I've done unusual challenges, and it's slowly got more and more important to myself to get smaller and smaller and smaller."
Speaking about his tiny purpose-built boat, "Big C," he said: "I think a space rocket would have more room.
"This is like being stuck in a wheelie bin, on a rollercoaster for 90 days - and that's what it could be in the worst-case scenario."
This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
