Sicilians have been waiting for a bridge between the island and the Italian mainland for years, sick of using ferries to cross the Strait. But, now, one man has found a novel new way of making the crossing: on foot. Yes, really. Estonian slackline athlete Jaan Roose made history on Wednesday (10 July) as the first person to walk across Italy’s Strait of Messina.

The slackline he used for the daring feat was the longest ever constructed - measuring 3,646 metres, more than 3.5 kilometres. Roose managed to complete the treacherous journey in just under three hours, technically beating the existing Guinness World Record distance of 2,710 metres. Sadly for him, though, a fall in the final 80 metres prevented him from officially setting a new World Record.