New Zealander Jeremy Burfoot, a cancer survivor who has circumnavigated New Zealand on a jet ski and who is about to attempt to travel from London to Auckland on a jet ski, sent the Coast 2 Coast 4 CANSA team, who are also supported by SPAR and ACER, a good luck message ahead of the final West Coast leg of their epic 1511 nautical mile journey.

Burfoot said "I have been following your progress, and you guys should be extremely proud of all you have achieved. Not far to go now – it is mostly mental toughness that will get you there from this point”. Burfoot, a dual Australian and New Zealand citizen and father of three, was 46 years old when he decided to circumnavigate New Zealand to promote a SunSmart message during the summer of 2006.

He also advised the guys to “try and figure out a way to make each day fun, the time passes a lot quicker! I am with you all the way, you guys are heroes! As Winston Churchill said "Never, never never give up". Finally, and most importantly, stay safe".

Expedition leader Russel Symcox said that “when we were in the planning stages of the Coast 2 Coast 4 CANSA mission, I was aware of Jeremy and all the great work he had done for cancer in New Zealand. I read his book, and both his successful fight against cancer and his accomplishments in terms of raising funds and awareness for cancer were a source of great inspiration for both myself and the rest of our team”.

As it turned out, Burfoot’s message could not have come at a better time, as the jet ski crew had to deal with the most extreme ocean conditions of the trip thus far. Symcox said that “today was some of the biggest seas we have seen – raw ocean power, made worse by the 8 degree water and seven metre swells. The boys performed incredibly well to complete the 156 km in 6 hours. At this stage of the mission, looking back at the distance we have covered, and looking ahead to the 500km left to travel, it is a mental challenge and we are going to have to keep persevering up until the final few kilometres”.

Burfoot is set to depart on another world-first jet ski mission when he plans to travel the 31,000km between Sydney and Auckland over a period of four months, starting in August.

The jet ski team, which also includes SA surfer Jason Ribbink (Durban North), ex-Protea cricketer Lance Klusener (Mount Edgecombe), marine conservationist Mark Addison (Widenham) and former Dolphins cricketer Russel Symcox (Scottburgh), has almost 500km left of their 2800km journey. They depart Lamberts Bay today (11 May) for Hondeklip, after which they hope to reach Port Nolloth and then the Orange River over the next two days.