Cape Town - Extreme adventurer Zirk Botha has been soaring through strong south easterly winds as he heads for Rio de Janeiro on his boat named Ratel.
Botha, 59, has refused to be deterred by the unpleasant weather for the second time on his solo row from Cape Town.
The former naval combat officer previously departed from Granger Bay on December 5, but was forced to return to harbour due to adverse wind conditions.
At about 8am on Saturday Botha left Kommetjie, on the southern Cape peninsula.
“The weather had been rather unsavoury on Sunday, with a few side swipes and waves breaking on the boat. But Ratel has totally taken it in her stride. The upside is that after covering 54 nautical miles in day one, I am set to cover 64 nautical miles on day 2. The exceptional distances covered are owing to Ratel’s open-class design that benefits from a stern wind,” said Botha.
He anticipated yesterday's wind to slow his progress down.
Botha will follow what is known as the Great Circle route, starting by heading north-west with the assistance of the south-easter.
“After 1 000km, once I am north of the latitude of Lüderitz Bay in Namibia and about 300 nautical miles offshore, I turn westerly so I can have the benefit of the wind behind me to take me across the Atlantic.
“On the Brazilian side of the Atlantic, the wind is north-easterly, so I have to arrive on the Brazilian coast north of Rio to have the wind behind me to head into Cabo Frio, where the old Rio de Janeiro yacht club is, which is where I will be finishing,” he said.
Botha is undertaking the extreme challenge to raise awareness about the environment and climate change.
He wants to use the challenge to highlight the impact of fossil fuels and irresponsible consumerism on the planet.
Botha’s 3 800 nautical mile journey is sponsored by Juwi Renewable Energies South Africa and is expected to take about 100 days.
Cape Times