Paddle News

Expedition to raise funds for Cancer Association of South Africa

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 February, 2010 : - - In mid-April this year, six intrepid adventurers on jet ski's will travel over 2800km's of coastline in 3 Southern African countries in order to increase awareness and raise funds for the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) as part of the Coast2Coast4CANSA (C2C4C) campaign. The expedition, which is expected to last for up to four weeks, requires the pilots to be in peak physical and mental condition as they will be encountering extreme ocean conditions on almost every step of their epic journey.

The pilots, world renowned big wave surfer Jason Ribbink (Durban North), professional surfski paddler Barry Lewin (Umhlanga), ex-Protea cricketer Daryll Cullinan (Gauteng), ex-Protea cricketer Lance Klusener (Mount Edgecombe), marine conservationist Mark Addison (Widenham) and former Dolphins cricketer Russel Symcox (Clansthal), will begin their journey on their Yamaha WaveRunners on the Mozambique border on the 20 April in 2010. Over the next four weeks, man and machine will travel up to 300km each day, with the aim of creating awareness, educating and raising funds for CANSA.

"CANSA plays an important 'watchdog' role for South Africans by acting proactively and educating the public on protecting themselves against cancer and this inaugural event will help to spread the word about making informed choices, such as safety in the sun, not using any tobacco products and encouraging South Africans to eat five fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Up to 40% of cancers can be prevented by living a healthy, balanced lifestyle. We are very excited to be joining the expedition in the fight against cancer", says Sue Janse van Rensburg, CANSA's CEO.

The journey, which will begin on the East Coast border of Mozambique and end at the West Coast border of Namibia, is "inherently dangerous, physically gruelling and challenging on every level" said expedition leader and event organiser Russel Symcox. However, according to Symcox, a mission of this magnitude is justifiable as "it will attract the necessary media attention which in turn will provide a platform to raise funds and create awareness for cancer, its prevention, early detection and treatment as well as encouraging all South Africans to pursue a healthy balanced lifestyle".

The approximately 1511 nautical mile journey involves more than just the six-strong "core" jet ski crew, as they will be accompanied by four support vehicles manned by support crew members, medical and safety personnel, a television and media production crew, media liaisons and logistics co-ordinators.

During the treacherous journey, the crew will stop over in the major South African cities of Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, and make use of the opportunity to promote cancer awareness. On these particular stop over days, media interviews with local radio stations and regional or community newspapers will be facilitated through the media liaisons and, with the assistance of CANSA, educational visits to schools, hospitals, clinics and special care facilities will also be organised, all designed to promote awareness about cancer and draw attention to the objectives of the C2C4C campaign.

With the entire journey being documented by cameramen and photographers, for both the land- and sea-based expeditions, this provides an ideal opportunity to produce lasting memories and the video footage will be produced into a broadcast quality package for television, downloadable video clips on the website and a DVD which will generate further awareness and income for the campaign. The photographs of the journey will also be featured on the campaigns official website and other online social media sites.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, to donate or simply just to track the progress of the crew both in the build-up and throughout the C2C4C campaign, log on to the official website at coast2coast4cansa.co.za or on the CANSA website cansa.org.za

www.cansa.org.za
www.coast2coast4cansa.co.za

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Lucy Balona

Sea Journeys - Surfersvillage