On 21 April 2010, six adventurers on Yamaha WaveRunners left from Ponto De Oura, Mozambique, with the aim of making history by being the first to travel over 2800km’s of South African coastline in order to increase awareness and raise funds for CANSA as part of the Coast2Coast4CANSA (C2C4C) campaign. On 12 May, just over three weeks later, the intrepid jet ski adventurers and CANSA ambassadors safely and successfully reached Alexander Bay and the Orange River mouth – the border between South Africa and Namibia.
During their treacherous mission, the pilots, Barry Lewin (SA Surfski paddler), Jason Ribbink (SA Surfer & Big Wave Rider), Lance Klusener (SA Cricketer), Mark Addison (Marine Conservationist & Shark Expert), Olivia Symcox (C2C4C PR & Media director), Brandon Ribbink (World Lifesaving Champion), Bennie Benson (cancer survivor) and Russel Symcox (Dolphins Cricketer) experienced some of the most extreme ocean conditions possible, getting battered by 7 metre ocean swells and 40 knots winds outside Richards Bay on just the third day of the mission.
After enjoying perfect conditions in the Eastern Cape, the team was once again put to the test when they reached the Cape of Storms. Rounding Cape Point and making inroads up the rugged and wild West Coast was made all the more difficult with the huge seas and strong winds that the team once again had to deal with. When blessed with a rare window of favourable weather, the team made one final push and rode a mammoth 346km on the final day to reach the mouth of the Orange River just before sunset, having left from the isolated and nearly inaccessible Brand se Baai over nine hours earlier.
The 1511 nautical mile journey involved more than just the six-strong “core” jet ski crew, as they were accompanied by four Toyota support vehicles manned by support crew members, medical and safety personnel, a television and media production crew, media liaisons and logistics coordinators. The support crew included Rob Evans, Liz Symcox, James Zikhali, Kelvin Trautman, Sharron Wharren and Sean Willis.
During the journey, the crew stopped over in the major South African cities of Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, and made use of the opportunities to promote cancer awareness. On these particular stop over days, the fundraising and awareness objectives were accomplished with the valued support of the local CANSA offices, as well as with the assistance of the sponsors in each locality.
The mission deservedly attracted much media attention, with interviews with local radio stations and regional and community newspapers a regular occurrence. Additionally, with the assistance of CANSA, educational visits to schools, hospitals, clinics and special care facilities were also be organized, all designed to promote awareness about cancer and draw attention to the objectives of the C2C4C campaign.
