Durban - Adventurer and explorer Davey du Plessis will have a frustrating wait until November to resume his voyage to Rio de Janeiro after his boat was towed to shore at the weekend.
Du Plessis, 27, and his mother, Robynn Wolff, 50, left from Granger Bay in their pedal boat The Herbivore but, because of high winds and heavy seas, had to be brought back to shore by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).
Wolff had been suffering from acute seasickness and was treated by the crew.
Soon after the incident, in which they battled 4-6m swells, Du Pless said: “After eight hours of pedalling from our departure point and becoming very fatigued, trying to get further west, I deployed the sea anchor and was then at the full mercy of wind directions.
“Initially the south-easter wind was blowing us westward out to sea, but the change to a southerly wind began to push us north and towards the coast. After being on sea anchor for the night and following day, all we could do was wait.”
The mother-son vegan duo were expected to complete the 6 450km trip in three to six months to raise awareness of Extinction Six, which highlights the plight of species threatened by human-induced extinction.
Du Plessis said he and his mother had been well prepared for their adventure, but the weather had made things difficult.
“We weren’t in distress or danger. Because the boat is powered just by our movement, if the wind is pushing against us, pedalling becomes a struggle,” he told The Mercury on Monday.
He said that when he took up the adventure again in November, Wolff would not be joining him. “She’s very disappointed. She didn’t expect to reach her breaking point so soon. It’s tough,” he said.
“We’ve missed the ‘weather window’ between November and January when the prevailing wind is blowing out to sea, instead of towards land.”
“You’re using ‘human power’, so everything you’re putting in is being pushed back by these powerful winds,” he said.
“
I need to maintain my focus so that I don’t get distracted by this setback.”
Du Plessis has suffered even more brutal challenges before.
Two months into a planned solo source-to-sea navigation of the Amazon River last year, he was ambushed and shot while in the isolated jungles of Peru.
The adventure turned into a struggle to survive as he sought rescue and safety.
The Mercury