Arriving in Rio #CapetoRioRow
After 92 days at sea, 7 761 kilometres traversed, over 2.3 million oar strokes, and one truly record breaking feat, Braam Malherbe and Wayne Robertson have arrived in Rio!
As we saw in our last update from their 6.8m carbon fibre 'piece of flotsam', it hasn't always been smooth sailing for our two intrepid adventurers. They've endured countless challenges from the realities of near total isolation and incredible heat, to boat-breaking storms and run-ins with tankers, gruelling physical endurance, to the loss of some of their most pivotal equipment (including one of their rowing seats!). They have surpassed not just world records, but the boundaries of what many of us believe to be possible. As a result, they truly have given new meaning to their mantra of, "If you dream big, plan well and take risks, nothing is impossible".
It is this passion, sense of conviction and a shared ethos that was one of the things that first inspired us to support their journey, to help in whatever small way we could through our sponsorship, and to raise awareness for their noble cause. We, at Southern Charter, are firm believers that "how far you go depends on who goes with you". It is something that shines through in our talented team, our relationships with our clients, and in the people we work with and support. Without strong support, careful planning and sensible risk taking we woudn't have acheived the success we have as a business today. Neither would Braam and Wayne have been able to acheive this unprecedented voyage.
Over and above all of these challenges, however, their cause and their love for our natural world have provided them with the strength and motivation they’ve needed on some of their darker days. As Braam said, “Almost daily seemingly small things get in the way of ‘plain sailing’. This is part of the test of life… hold a big dream, a great vision, and the small irritations fall by the wayside.”
One of greatest lessons and takeaways that they’ve shared has been an even more profound respect and admiration for the ocean, their only other companion – and at times a cruel mistress – over the course of the last two months.
Escaping their “boat island” and diving into the “big magnificent blue” has offered them relished freedom and respite from the heat and confines of the Mohondoro. As they recounted, after some of their most challenging moments, the ocean left them “in awe again, after much fatigue, blisters and a cracked rib. Nature has restored the soul yet again”.
It was at times like these too, however, that they were forced to face the stark reality that their "little row boat", entirely unassisted and "floating in no man's land", was simultaneously so small and insignificant out there in the mid-South Atlantic. "The chances of being rescured if things went really bad [were] very slim", and yet they describe themselves "feeling sort of okay, and in a way content doing this so-called 'impossible' expedition"
Why, you may wonder? In part because it helped remind them and re-emphasise the importance of their voyage all the more, all in the name of the DOT Challenge. Theirs was a journey to raise awareness of the four biggest threats facing our planet, and to get each of us to realise how simply, easily and cost-free we could make small changes to our daily behaviours that could significantly lessen our global impact. One of the greatest lessons that they learnt on the journey, Braam said, was how life on the Mohondoro wasn’t as different from our lives at home as we may imagine.
As Braam describes, “What do we need to survive on this home of ours? Sun, air, water, food, shelter. Our boat is solar powered to charge our batteries, so that our batteries can operate our water desalinator. The air is pure around our little home. The food is stored in ration form in our holds, although the sea supplies us with her bounty (flying fish and squid land in the boat at night). Our tiny cabin is more than adequate shelter. If we do not look after her, and all she freely provides us, we will die. Are you, where you are right now, and us, where we are right now, so far apart after all? Are our responsibilities not the same; to look after, with infinite care, our finite resources?”
As Southern Charter CEO Mark Thompson notes, “This is definitely the most extreme thing that Braam has ever done, and it was always going to be an epic journey”. Through their ground-breaking voyage Braam and Wayne have not only achieved, but also taught us, so much.
They have shown us that we need to be more cognisant of the impact that our daily lives and behaviours have on our planet; how much we tend to take our everyday comforts and luxuries for granted. They have shown us the beauty and unknowability of our natural world, and the strength of the human spirit when it sets out to achieve something great.
We are so proud to have got to play our small part in their journey, and the realisation of this world first feat.
Braam and Wayne, welcome home!
