Mysterious Man In Suit Paddleboards Across Hudson River (VIDEO)

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — It was an ordinary Thursday morning during rush hour, and Eunice Rivers was on her way to work, traveling from Jersey City to Pier 11 on a New York Waterway ferry. And that’s when she saw a man – dressed in a full suit – paddling his way across the Hudson River.

Rivers chose the perfect word to sum up her feelings as she posted the video to social media on June 21: “hilarious.” (Watch the video below)

The strange sight would have been easy to miss on an otherwise boring morning commute. One ferry passenger in Rivers’ video can be seen facing forward, absorbed in his music, while just outside the window the intrepid mariner paddles his way across the choppy wake of the river like Charon rowing across the River Styx.

Rivers wasn’t the only commuter who got a thrill from the weird sighting.

“People at my job are talking about that dude who paddleboarded the Hudson River,” a bemused social media user commented on Thursday.

THE MAN BEHIND THE VOYAGE

On Friday, Patch spoke with the man who claimed credit for the unusual maritime voyage: New Jersey resident Scott Holt.

Holt, a 32-year-old Belleville and North Arlington native, is currently living in Jersey City. And on Thursday, his goal was simple… make it to a meeting in New York City on time.

“I had a meeting with an agent,” the amateur comedian explained. “I was running late and didn’t want to take the ferry. So I got my board and hopped into the river.”

Balancing in dress shoes and carrying a briefcase while navigating the waves proved to be a little daunting, but Holt eventually found his zen and settled into a groove… albeit a soggy-footed one. And that’s when the authorities saw him.

Holt said that as he cruised along the river, a NY Waterway worker and a police officer spotted him and started yelling to get out of the drink. The officer was surprisingly cool and a little befuddled about the whole incident, Holt said. But the ferry worker was another story.

“He was a real New Yorker,” Holt recalled, imitating the man’s accent. “He was like, ‘Are you trying to f****** die out here?’ And I was like, ‘No… I just want to make it to my meeting.’”

Although the ferryman insisted that “We can put you in cuffs!” the police officer just told him “Get out of here, man.”

“I don’t know if it was because it was the first day of summer or what, but he let me go,” Holt chuckled.

And in case you were wondering, yes, he made it to the meeting on time.

Despite the boldness of his mission, Holt came back empty-handed and is still without representation for his comedy act. But even though he didn’t tell the agent about his strange voyage across the Hudson, Holt is pretty sure that the pro knew something was amiss.

“I left a bunch of wet footprints,” he said.

Holt, who has performed at the Broadway Comedy Club in New York City, plans to speak about his trip during an appearance at the venue on Friday, June 22. Listen to some of his comedy here (videos contain explicit language)

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Photo: Eunice Rivers (used with permission)