Paddling News
In a bid likely to engage world media attention, a Durban kayaker, profoundly struck by the devastation of HIV and Aids, plans to circumnavigate Africa on a surfski - hoping to return to Cape Town before the opening game of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. In a bid likely to engage world media attention, a Durban kayaker, profoundly struck by the devastation of HIV and Aids, plans to circumnavigate Africa on a surfski - hoping to return to Cape Town before the opening game of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.By all accounts, it's an extreme feat, never attempted before. Many commentators are also likely to consider Simon Blackburn deluded to even contemplate the mission.
But not Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who is already praying for the mission's success and calling on sponsors to give financial and technical support.
"I wish Simon Godspeed and a safe journey," reads a testimonial from Tutu.
"This Africa Challenge will be a physically gruelling and dangerous journey, given our coastline, which is often inhospitable. But we, too, as Africans, are in dangerous and uncharted waters as we face up to the challenges of HIV/Aids. We have experienced nothing before like this. We cannot afford to become tired in our campaign to overcome it," says Tutu.
But can Blackburn do it, is a question sponsors are likely to ask. Top marathon kayakers, current world surfski champion Oscar Chalupsky included, are in awe of Blackburn's mission, but believe he can make it.
"He's extremely fit, well prepared and he's got the right attitude. It's like he's racing for survival - not for himself, but for Africa," says Chalupsky. "The biggest problem will be the unknown factor, like malaria. You go down with a bout of malaria, what then?
"Sharks are generally not a problem when you are alert and fresh, but when you are physically drained and a shark knocks you, it could be a different ballgame altogether. There are a lot of hidden dangers and things lurking around out there," says Chalupsky.
Pirates
"Up north, on the West Coast, and off Somalia, pirates could also hit the support vessel, take all the kit, then what? It's not Disneyland out there. You also don't realise what injuries start coming up when you are doing 60 to 70km a day, 365 days a year."
New York journalist, Joe Glickman, author of The Kayak Companion and two-time member of the US Marathon Canoe and Kayak Team, agrees with Chalupsky that the expedition is probably the most extreme ever undertaken in the history of ocean kayaking.
In 1994, Glickman completed a 103-day, 5 793km paddle from south-west Montana to New York - one of the biggest kayaking feats to date.
Blackburn is now set on covering five times that distance - an estimated 32 000km through some of the most treacherous seas in the world.
Glickman has never met Blackburn personally, but has heard about the man's paddling ability and fitness.
"He certainly has the physical chops to pull it off, but it's a huge distance," warns Glickman.
"There will be days when weather, illness or equipment failure make meeting that goal seem impossible, so then you have to play catch up.
"Then there's the physical toll - blisters on your hands, feet and bum, exposure to the sun, stinging fish, stomach ailments or injuries," says Glickman.
Friends of Blackburn, the son of the late Molly Blackburn, a leading anti-apartheid activist, insist that his motivation is not personal glory, fame or fortune, but a deeper, personal mission born out of his experience of knowing someone very close to him who contracted HIV.
They say Blackburn now wants to turn this experience into a challenge to people, worldwide, to do something, no matter how small, in contributing to fighting the pandemic.
Blackburn focuses outward, on the plight of others, in particular the growing numbers of Aids orphans.
Orphans
"The welfare net once offered by extended families is being decimated," says Blackburn, who hopes the Africa Challenge expedition will spark a massive quest to rescue millions of Aids orphans from poverty and destitution.
Originally set on raising at least $5-million (R33-million) for the development charity, Starfish Greathearts Foundation, Blackburn says he soon realised that throwing big money at the problem was, in itself, not a solution.
"Of course, money is required, but when you look at how much is already given to governments, like a $50-million (R330-million) HIV and Aids grant given to Botswana through the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation, you realise our fundraising efforts would be but a trickle in comparison. So it's more about engaging public attention, prompting people worldwide to act," says Blackburn.
Among people Blackburn hopes will join him for parts of the challenge are the likes of Richard Branson, as well as famous actors, rock stars, sports men and women - the Serena Williams and Bryan Habanas of the world.
Blackburn now intends to set off for his Africa Challenge from Cape Town by September next year, returning before the beginning of the 2010 World Cup.
"If I could cover 80km a day, it would take 18 months, so I am giving myself four months extra to accommodate days on shore, and also resting on the support vessel when it's impossible to paddle," says Blackburn.
As the story of the Africa Challenge grows, Blackburn also hopes that media attention will in turn prompt African leaders and governments, opinion makers and roleplayers to do more to end the HIV/Aids pandemic.
Blackburn says through his family's experiences under apartheid, he had become keenly aware of the plight of others less fortunate, and associated injustices and unnecessary suffering, as is now happening through HIV/Aids.
"My grandfather, Buller Pagden, had a seat for the Liberal Party. My dad was a doctor and my mom (Molly Blackburn) got deeply involved in the struggle. We were exposed to all this - the experiences of parents of detained children, and also the harassment from security police, death threats to my mom on the phone, our phone lines tapped, car tyres slashed and all that sort of thing."
While all that's changed and apartheid has ended, Blackburn believes Africans now face an even greater challenge in ending the HIV and Aids pandemic.
Article Source: iol.co.za
Log me in
Popular Tags
Adaptive Paddling
American Canoe Association
Andrew McAuley
Canadian Canoe Museum
Canoe
Environment
Expedition
Gear
Gear Reviews
Jackson Kayak
James Castrission
Johnson Outdoors
Kayak
Kayaking
Kokatat
Lake Superior
Naturally Superior Adventures
New Zealand
Paddle Canada
Press Releases
Video
Videos
Web Sites
Werner Paddles
Youtube
Strategic Partner
