They made it! The False Bay Crazeez team of Amy Lansdell, Chris Mullineux, David Hall and Léanne Keet completed the epic swim across False Bay on Friday (22 March).
The do-gooder friends braved chilly, choppy waters when they embark on the Swim the Bay for Books marathon in hopes of raising funds in aid of Masikhule’s early literacy programmes (“Show support for swimmers with heart,” News24 and Netwerk24, 8 March).
The day started at pre-dawn at Miller’s Point in cool misty conditions with the water temperature a chilly 13,5/14 degrees and Lansdell championing the first leg of the relay.
Each swimmer was in action for an hour, toughing out an average of 3 km per hour.
The deep mist eventually lifted mid-morning, revealing a perfectly blue sky and a calm, flat sea with gentle swells. Unfortunately they did not have dolphins for company, but plenty of seals, millions of jellyfish larvae and a couple of lonely bluebottles. The conditions on the day were absolutely pristine and looking out onto the open horizon, and swimming was a surreal experience.
There was plenty of time between swims to chat, laugh and make sure they were ready, nutrition-wise for their next hour, and seeing Rooi Els basking in the last hours of sunlight below the Klein Hangklip mountain was a welcome sight after 11 hours on the ocean.
Keet, Masikhule’s founder, said: “The most memorable was swimming into the bay together for the last 200 metres and being greeted by family and friends. Our official time – 11 hours 16 minutes and the 11th relay team to have successfully completed the crossing.
“What was top of our minds? The fact that this was much more than us. We were acutely aware of our pledge to Swim the Bay for Books and improving early literacy skills of vulnerable children within the Helderberg basin and within the ECD Centres connected to Masikhule. Having exceeded all expectations and raising more than R45 000 to this cause has made the entire adventure even more worthwhile.”
Keet expressed a collective gratitude to every donor for supporting the Swim the Bay for Books cause. “Thank you for being part of the change,” he said.
. Locals can continue to support the worthy initiative by visiting https://www.givengain.com/campaign/swim-the-bay-for-books.
