Many of us feel proud after merely taking a dip in Clifton’s icy waters, or even after a few laps in the pool at the gym, never mind swimming from one province to another. One woman is doing something remarkable, and unfathomable for most of us mere mortals – she’s taken on the challenge of swimming all the way to Cape Town from Durban.
The purpose behind the strokes
“You might think she’s crazy, but this lady has purpose!” expressed one of Sarah Ferguson’s supporters in light of the epic swim. For those who recognise the name, no, this is not the Dutchess of York discovered to have an affinity for swimming great distances. Our Sarah is a Guinness World Record setter, a former national swimmer for South Africa, and the first to do some iconic swims including being the first African woman to swim Swim Ka’iwi Channel Crossing according to Plastic Oceans. On top of all this, she’s also a physiotherapist. Beyond her impressive list of accomplishments, she’s an advocate for the seascape and ocean life, and a hero in raising awareness. The enemy of the oceans? Pollution, particularly the plastic kind.
Taking her passion and advocacy against plastic pollution to the next level inspired her champion swim to Cape Point. Sarah’s determination and effort to not just talk the talk, but swim the swim, will certainly lead us to look at our oceans a little differently. If one person is going to such literal great lengths to raise awareness for the plastic problem, it might be time for all of us who enjoy the seascape as much as we do, to clean up our act. And for those who already do, it’s high tide and time that we educate the naysayers who think “it’s just one bottle.”
About Sarah’s water trek
On 21 February the super swimmer began her journey. She’s been actively documenting the various legs of the experience in videos and infographics; sharing the distances covered per day, the weather, water quality, her strokes, the marine creatures she’s encountered and of course, the plastic count.
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According to Sarah as per gsport, the plastic pollution problem saw a rise during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the riots in KwaZulu-Natal “which created serious chemical spills”. The problem pertains to single-use plastic items.
How far is the distance?
This is a distance of 1500km we’re talking about. By day 10, Sarah had covered roughly 10% of the task, at 152.4km in total. Her latest update saw a recap of day 11 and day 12.
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On day 12, Sarah marks 227.4km covered.
She’s still got a mighty way to go, but with enough support and gusto to support her gumption, she and her team can conquer those waters.
For more information on the OneOceanSwim, or if you’d like to help out in any way, check out Sarah and the initiative’s respective pages:
Indeed, not all heroes wear cape, some wear swimming caps, and we can’t wait to see her emerge in the Cape’s waters!
Also read:
WATCH: Cape Town freediver sets a new world record beneath the ice
Picture: @northglenn
