Trio to tackle 12km coastal swim to Clarke Bay

Two locals and one former Dolphin Coaster are aiming at completing a titanic 12km swim from Tinley Manor beach to Clarke Bay in Ballito in support of charity.

The trio of dauntless gentlemen – Salt Rock’s Jose de Charmoy, Ballito’s Mike Oberholzer and former local Andrew Stevens – will swim the route in support of The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund and the hard-working team from Specialised Rescue Unit (SRU) during the last ten days of April.

The three swimmers are appealing to the community to sponsor the swim, which has never been attempted before.

De Charmoy told The Courier that this was hardly the first long distance swim that they had tackled, but that it was certainly going to be a challenge.

“We have tackled a few open water swims like this – from Perth to Rottnest Island in Australia, which was 20km, and have swum the five or six kilometres from Salt Rock to Clarke Bay and Salmon Bay a few times.

“We also swam from the island of Coin De Mire 8km to the mainland of Mauritius, which earned us more than a few funny looks from locals who thought we had a death wish.”

“It is important for people to understand that we are not daredevils, these kinds of swims are very dangerous and we have been in contact with the Shark’s Board and rescue services to make sure that we do this as safely as possible.

“Of course it’s a risk – and we’re doing it to support a good cause – but that doesn’t mean we’re going to be reckless.”

Weather and ocean conditions allowing, the three intrepid swimmers will finalise the exact date for the swim as the last ten days of April draw ever nearer.

“We would also like to use this swim to draw attention to the plight of the marine environment. The abundance of marine life along the Dolphin Coast is comparable to anywhere in the world – but it needs to be protected.”

Depending on the conditions, the trio are hoping to complete the swim in under 5 hours after a 7am start.

“A swim like this doesn’t just happen without the input of many people. To that end we would like to thank Steve Honeyset, Peter Striker, Robin Heenan, Paul Herbst, Dennis Fortune and Quentin Power and the whole SRU team for all the input they have all had and the help they are giving us.”

If you would like to sponsor these three fearless gentlemen in their challenging swim, make a donation to The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund by transferring funds to ABSA account 9109 572 488, branch code 630229 with the reference “12km swim”.

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