Paddleboarder embarks on epic nine-hour round trip to offshore wind farm that’s 10 miles off Sussex coast (but wishes he’d applied more sun cream before leaving)

• Jude Somers made incredible 20-mile trip from Worthing to the Sussex coast 
• His arms were ‘left burning’ following the nine-hour journey on Monday July 11
• He filmed the arduous journey to the 72 sq km windfarm in a three-part series 
• The paddleboarder only took three essentials with him during the nine-hour trip

A paddleboarder who made an epic nine-hour round trip to visit the Rampion offshore wind farm set out to sea with just sun cream, cookies and a waterproof phone case.

Jude Somers made the incredible 20-mile trip from Worthing to the Sussex coast that left his ‘arms burning’ on Monday July 11.

He filmed the arduous journey to the 72 sq km wind farm in a three-part series that showed the 15-foot deep sea, where he saw a huge compass jellyfish and passed a cargo ship.

Mr Somers – who quit his office job to embark on a series of TikTok adventures – shared the trip with his 12 million followers where he was just inches away from the giant wind turbine.

During the journey, he told his followers ‘This is just amazing, I’ve never been anywhere like this before.’

‘As amazing as this is – it took four hours to get out here which means it’s going to take at least four hours to get back’, he added.

Once he returned home, Mr Somers, from Worthing, showed off a blister on his foot and painful red sunburn on his back.

Jude Somers made the incredible 20-mile trip from Worthing to the Sussex coast that left his ‘arms burning’ on Monday July 11 when the ‘weather was calm and clear’.

He filmed the arduous journey to the 72 sq km wind farm in a three-part series that showed the 15-foot deep clear water

Once he returned home, Mr Somers, from Worthing, showed off a blister on his foot and red sunburn on his back

He joked: ‘We’re not even going to talk about it’.

He added: ‘The distance I travelled today is actually more than the distance of the English Channel which meant I could have went to France if I wanted too.’

Mr Somers, who swims in the sea all year round, said: ‘The wind farm is on the horizon every time I go in the sea.

‘I see it every single day so I always think that it would be so cool to paddle out there. But because of weather conditions I have never been able to.

‘But last week it was just perfect. The wind was perfect. The water was completely still, like a mirror, so it thought it would be the perfect day.

Mr Somers, who swims in the sea all year round, said: ‘The wind farm is on the horizon every time I go in the sea’

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm is the first offshore wind farm off the south coast of England and Mr Somers said: ”It was the time of day when it was the hottest with the sun beaming down on me, so I did find the journey back the hardest’

‘Because I had already done the four hours getting there and had paddled about the wind farm for an hour, the way back it was really hard.

‘It was the time of day when it was the hottest with the sun beaming down on me, so I did find the journey back the hardest.

‘But I was so pleased when I got back!’

So far, he has posted numerous videos of him swimming and completing challenges such as walking barefoot for ten days.

One user commented: ‘Am I the only one scared of big buildings/structures like this?’

So far, the paddleboarder has posted numerous videos of him swimming and completing challenges such as walking barefoot for ten days

Another added: ‘Imagine being on a tiny inflatable paddle board w no life jacket and the wind getting stronger, waves getting bigger oh god.’

One more said: ‘People don’t realise how dangerous this could have been there are many factors to consider when on the sea this could have ended a lot worse.’

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm is the first offshore wind farm off the south coast of England.

It is located in the English Channel and is between 13 kilometres and 20 kilometres from the Sussex coast and stretches from East Worthing to Brighton. 

The mammoth wind farm is larger than the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. It does not have an issue of restricted navigation for boats.

The Crown Estate owns almost all UK coastline out to 12 nautical miles and has to agree to lease the seabed before construction can start on a wind farm. 

Source: Read Full Article