Personal message

As an adventure addict and swimming enthusiast I literally dived at the opportunity to swim with a team of kindred madswimmers across the Dead Sea! There are just SO many things that excite me about this swim…

1. The challenge: 16km in a body of water that is over 8 times saltier than the sea. What may seem to be advantage from a buoyancy perspective is more than cancelled out by the challenge of viscosity, heat and risk of saline burn discomfort! We are swimming with full face masks to ensure that no water gets in our eyes or mouths – if it does, it will STING! Added to that it has not been easy finding time to swim inbetween work trips across Africa so I am going to have to really push my physical limits. Your support will definitely help me to dig deep when the time comes!

2. The cause: The Dead Sea water level has fallen more than 25 meters during the past 30 years due to conflict-ridden "water-grabbing" and unsustainable water management. The swim will be raising awareness of the issue in the international commuity led by an organisation called Eco Peace. Meanwhile, closer to home, the South Afrcian based Madswimmers will use any funds raised to support the education, health and development of underprivileged children. Charities include Just The One Foundation, Children’s Hospital Trust, and more great organisations. Finally, my personal pledge to all supporters will be to invest more of my time in working with new swimmers here in Johannesburg to build confidence, unlock potential and share the privilege and joy of swimming with people in my own city.

3. The connection: This will be my first swim with the Madswimmers but I already sense some life-long friendships in the making. I am a huge fan of people who look to push boundaries both physically and mentally in search of individual purpose as well as positive outcomes for the planet! We’re facing immense global challenges today which we need to address collectively and value the things we have in common rather than those that divide us. You can probably tell that I am a big fan of the peace sign so will flash it as much as possible in the swim pics!

THANK YOU for reading this and please contact me to find out more about the Dead Sea Swim or check out the website!

Donations