Eight surf ski paddlers to cross Bass Strait in world first
Media Release / 01.04.2010
The paddlers will depart Wednesday April 7, and cross the treacherous Banks Strait first, before island hopping all the way to Wilsons Promontory, Victoria, aiming for an arrival of Wednesday April 14, weather dependent.The expedition, dubbed ‘Bass Strait, Everest of the Sea’, is a world first. Expedition leader and Australian Adventure Racing champion Jarad Kohlar is one of several people who have crossed Bass Strait in a sea kayak, but no-one has ever attempted the crossing on a racing surf ski.
All eight paddlers, including Jarad Kohlar, Brendon Grail, Sandy Cameron, Andrew Couuts, Richard Jennings, Nathan Chandler, Emma Francis, Michael Kolody and Susan Wilson, all of Melbourne, Victoria, have been training for months to prepare for the expedition, regularly hitting the beach at Sandridge in Melbourne before sun up.
“It has been a life-long dream of mine to paddle across Bass Strait on a racing surf ski. By shedding all of the weight of a sea kayak, we’re able to paddle much quicker and with less energy, enabling us to spend a few hours each day picking up rubbish from the remote beaches we stop at along the way. †said Kohlar.
Beach cleanups will also be undertaken by the group of eight paddlers each day during the expedition will contribute to Surfrider Foundation Austrlia and Tangaroa Blues National Marine Debris Initiative, which aims at empowering communities and individuals to participate in cleanups and monitors the rubbish they find through a National database.
