Durban - A Durban-born man who embarked on a 6 450km pedal boat voyage to Brazil with his mother has spoken of how they had to abort their mission just a day after they set off from Cape Town.
Davey du Plessis, 27, and his 50-year-old mom, Robynn Wolff, who is from Umhlanga, set off from Granger Bay near Cape Town on Friday, and had aimed to reach Rio de Janeiro 90 to 150 days later.
However, the National Sea Rescue Institute had to render assistance to the two in high winds and heavy seas, cutting short their attempt. Wolff was also experiencing severe seasickness.
The expedition was to raise awareness of the mass extinction of many species, caused by industrial development, agriculture and overpopulation.
Du Plessis is no stranger to adventure, or drama: in 2012 he was shot by bandits while on a kayaking expedition on the Amazon River. His book “Choosing To Live”is his personal account of that experience.
Du Plessis posted a full account of the weekend’s events on Facebook – and plans to reattempt the journey before year’s end.
He said the boat had been handling strong Cape seas, 40 knot winds and 4m to 6m swells, but the pedal system could not beat the conditions, as the pair tried to push west and out to sea.
“We were both seasick. I managed to eat and drink a bit, also reminding my mom to do the same. Eventually, after eight hours of pedalling from departure and becoming very fatigued, trying to get further west, I deployed the sea anchor. Initially the south easterly wind was blowing us westward out to sea, but the change to a south wind began to push us north and towards the coast.”
Du Plessis said after being on sea anchor for the night and the following day, all they could do was wait. “My mom was suffering from chronic seasickness, and she suggested we call for help, but I told her this was to be expected and to give it another day or two before we called for help.”
He said he didn’t think they would need help because they would be pushed back to shore and would either beach the craft or call for a tow when much closer to land.
He had been “very preoccupied” with managing the boat and had neglected to send updates home.
“I assumed the live-tracking device would be sufficient.” The team “hadn’t heard from us directly for over 24 hours and noticed we were drifting way off-course”, he said.
“They called NSRI to come find us. I was completely oblivious to any rescue efforts, as my mom and I lay hunkered in the boat waiting to see what the weather did.”
He said it did not feel like a life-threatening situation, so there was no need for a rescue.
“After the call to home and being told that there is a boat looking for us, I decided that seeing as the boat was near and we were drifting closer to Dassen Island, I asked if we could get a tow and also (medical attention for) my mom.”
“My mom also reached her breaking point, which I can understand because she was experiencing terrible seasickness.”
Du Plessis said the reality was that with these adventures, especially if it was something that had not been done before, there were going to be “challenges and setbacks”.
“Fortunately I have pulled some vital information from this experience, and can now make some adjustments. I will miss my window period for departure, so have to encounter a delay and hopefully be ready to pedal the Atlantic at the end of this year.”
NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon explained the saga began on Friday afternoon when NSRI Bakoven launched the sea rescue craft Rotarian Schipper on a request to deliver a tracking device (mistakenly left behind) to the pair’s paddle boat.
At 9am on Saturday, Wolff’s concerned husband asked NSRI Yzerfontein to launch a search, as their tracking system showed the paddle boat adrift 18km offshore.
As a precaution NSRI Yzerfontein launched the sea rescue craft Rotary Onwards, but with no direct communication with the paddle boat, no sign was found.
Later on Saturday afternoon a request for assistance came through, as Wolff had severe motion sickness.
NSRI Table Bay launched the sea rescue craft Spirit of Vodacom to rendezvous with the paddle boat 18mk off Bokpunt.
Wolff and Du Plessis were taken off their boat on to the sea rescue craft.
In rough sea conditions, the vessel was towed to a sheltered anchorage at Dassen Island, while Wolff and Du Plessis were taken safely to port in Table Bay, arriving at 1am.
They would make arrangements to recover their paddle boat from Dassen Island, and the SA Maritime Safety Authority would investigate, Lambinon said.
The Mercury