Rowing me crazy
Riaan Manser will row from Morocco to New York with his girlfriend
LOCAL super-athlete Riaan Manser has re-written the definition of tenacity, courage and determination over the past nine years.
This after completing three unparalleled world firsts: cycling the entire perimeter of the African continent, circumnavigation of Madagascar by single kayak and circling Iceland with partner Dan Skinstad by double kayak.
July 2009 saw Riaan paddle 5 000 kilometres in eleven months in a kayak around Madagascar.
After completing this epic journey, he paddled 2 300 kilometres around Iceland with partner Dan Skinstad in a double sea-kayak over a five month period in March 2011.
Riaan then became the first person to cycle around the perimeter of Africa, completing a staggering 37 000 kilometres through 34 countries.
And as if this was not enough, he also climbed Mt Kilimanjaro and descended to Lake Assal, the highest and lowest points on the continent.
Now he is at it again, paddling from Morocco to New York, a whopping 10 765 kilometre journey across the Atlantic Ocean, together with Vasti Geldenhuys.
Vasti, a lawyer by trade, has always been the support structure of South Africa’s pioneering explorer.
Alone and unaided they left on 15 December to endure a 120 day row from Agadir, Morocco to their destination, New York.
The couple, who met in Cape Town in 1999, will put their 14-year relationship to the ultimate test, by first heading toward the Canary Islands and then down to Cape Verde.
The boat has been equipped with two plotters, which indicate the boats position on a nautical chart, a weather station and VHF Radio.
A solar power regulator will supply power to the technology on board as well as a salt water converter which, if all goes to plan, will turn salt water into drinking water by desalination.
The final two pieces of equipment, probably the most vital, are the personal locator beacons (PLB) and emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB).
On the mental and physical side of preparation, Vasti and Riaan have trained daily on a stationary rowing machine and spinning bike and did a great deal of research to arm them with knowledge about the Atlantic Ocean and the vessel they will be calling home.
They plan to row 20 hours of the available 24 per day, taking two hourly shifts at a time and the average speed they are aiming for; a hopeful 3 knots.
Burning huge amounts of calories per day, Riaan and Vasti will have to replenish their energy with high calorie freeze dried foods.
If they have the urge for fresh food, they will have to do it the old fashioned way by wetting a line in the big blue ocean.
One can follow Riaan and Vasti @TM2NY on twitter or the Take Me 2 New York Facebook page.
