Steve Pike

VISUALISING a successful outcome is part of sport, especially in the professional era.

Mind coaches teach positive visualisation techniques to sports stars because a psychologist is of course an important part of an athlete’s support team, along with sports scientists, nutritionists, physios and coaches.

The higher the stakes, and the ranking of the athlete, the larger and more experienced the team. However, when you’re paddling across an ocean unsupported, most of the above has to come from one person: you.

Only Chris Bertish, the big wave hellman who spent 93 days paddling his pimped up Standup Paddleboard from Morocco to the Caribbean during The SUP Crossing, could get him across the ocean.

He did have a support crew of course, but it was virtual. Apart from family, friends, shore crew, media people, sponsorship agents and a physician he could talk to on his satellite phone or communicate on the Internet, per- haps the single most important person was his weather guru and routing consultant Leven Brown.

Scotland-based Brown was crucial in helping Bertish get to Antigua, providing severeweather warnings and route information.

The rest was up to Bertish himself. Fortunately, positive visualisation is an area he knows well. Much of his success and a plethora of world records, including the 2010 win at the Mavericks Invitational in giant waves called the largest ever for a paddle-in big wave contest, can be put down to sheer willpower.

Surfers will recall the stepped giant of a wave that clinched the title. It was one of the scariest waves I have ever seen, and I was only watching the live stream.

Bertish says he had visualised riding that wave the night before but he kept falling off as he began to drop down the step. So he stayed awake until he made the wave. He won the event on five hours’ sleep.

As an inspirational speaker, this “mind over matter” thing is his stock in trade. In fact, its

BIG SWEEP: John John Florence won the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro.