Peter van Kets, Pete van Kets, Cliff Coombe, Carel du Toit
Updates from Pete and Cliffy
23/Nov/09 22:41 Filed in: Nyamezela
News from Cliff, Sunday 22 November:
We have been travelling flat out and for the first time now have good internet connection at the Blue Marlin, a pub down from our apartment. We are having a problem with sms and cell reception and will try sort that out tomorrow.
The trip up was ok. Flights were good, Virgin Atlantic was great. The floods and bad weather meant that our flight from Gatwick was delayed by an hour which meant that we missed our ferry. However, we sat next to a lovely English couple, Sue and Nigel, who put us up in their holiday house (on the first night of their holiday!) and took us out for a beautiful meal and paid our taxi fare from the airport ... amazing people - so hospitable and warm. Nigel is a retired fireman from the UK. He will be coming over from Tenerife to see us in the next few days.
Today we had a great day. Started out just catching the ferry to the island and then checking the boat out and all the other boats. There's great energy here. Very British. Pete has interesting competitors.
We unpacked the boat in 30 deg heat. Everything survived the journey - the chocolates arrived unscathed! Pete has registered and we have booked our slot for the medical kit check and the scrutiny has been booked for next Monday. Lots to be done till then! We spent the rest of the day packing the treat bags: Pete's jungle juice, his chocolates, etc. 90 bags, one for each [potential] day.
Tomorrow we will get on to setting the dagger board and a few other pieces of kit
It is really amazing to see how well Pete has been received. He is really liked by the rowers and it's clear that they really respect him. There were lots of oooohs and aaahs at Nyamezela - she is beautifully built and people are raving about her. I feel so proud to be with Pete and connected to his campaign. Photos to follow soon!
News from Pete, Monday 23 November: Cliffy and I have spent the last two days getting the boat ready for the epic journey. My dankie tannie packies have been packed, we have interior decorated the cabin with some nice white foam (which will keep me cool and the sound out) and organised my medical kit which was supplied by Life Health Care Group. Tomorrow at 11h00 I have my medical scrutineering. We discovered a few missing items and had an interesting shopping spree in the local pharmacy. Cliffy and I were trying to explain in our best Spanish (our vocab so far is "dos cerveza por favor" - two beers please) that we need Vaseline, an eye bath and tough cut scissors. Not easy and we are still not sure if we have the right thing. Oh well at least our Spanish has improved. Butterflies are still huge but I am looking forward to the start.
Today we had a great day. Started out just catching the ferry to the island and then checking the boat out and all the other boats. There's great energy here. Very British. Pete has interesting competitors.
We unpacked the boat in 30 deg heat. Everything survived the journey - the chocolates arrived unscathed! Pete has registered and we have booked our slot for the medical kit check and the scrutiny has been booked for next Monday. Lots to be done till then! We spent the rest of the day packing the treat bags: Pete's jungle juice, his chocolates, etc. 90 bags, one for each [potential] day.
Tomorrow we will get on to setting the dagger board and a few other pieces of kit
It is really amazing to see how well Pete has been received. He is really liked by the rowers and it's clear that they really respect him. There were lots of oooohs and aaahs at Nyamezela - she is beautifully built and people are raving about her. I feel so proud to be with Pete and connected to his campaign. Photos to follow soon!
News from Pete, Monday 23 November: Cliffy and I have spent the last two days getting the boat ready for the epic journey. My dankie tannie packies have been packed, we have interior decorated the cabin with some nice white foam (which will keep me cool and the sound out) and organised my medical kit which was supplied by Life Health Care Group. Tomorrow at 11h00 I have my medical scrutineering. We discovered a few missing items and had an interesting shopping spree in the local pharmacy. Cliffy and I were trying to explain in our best Spanish (our vocab so far is "dos cerveza por favor" - two beers please) that we need Vaseline, an eye bath and tough cut scissors. Not easy and we are still not sure if we have the right thing. Oh well at least our Spanish has improved. Butterflies are still huge but I am looking forward to the start.
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Daily Dispatch 20 Nov 09
23/Nov/09 20:50 Filed in: Nyamezela
| Setting out to tame the Atlantic demon |
| PETE GO FOR IT: Peter van Kets with children from the Carel du Toit School for the Deaf, who presented him with a good luck banner on Wednesday for his solo adventure across the Atlantic that starts on December 5. The school will receive money raised from the race. Picture: PHILLIP NOTHNAGEL AHEAD lies the expanse of the mighty Atlantic Ocean, unpredictable weather, gale-force winds, storms, giant waves and swells, blazing sun and endless days of pain and loneliness. All of this awaits East London adventurer Peter van Kets, who in two weeks’ time, on December 6, sets off on his own to row across the Atlantic. The race begins in San Sebastian, La Gomera in the Canary islands and ends in Antigua in the Caribbean, some 5 000km away. This is the second time Van Kets will be crossing the Atlantic, having done so with fellow East Londoner Bill Godfrey in 2007/8. The pair emerged heroes after winning the pairs section of the Woodvale Atlantic Race. An excited Van Kets left today from East London Airport for Tenerife in the Canary Islands via Johannesburg and London, where his carbon-fibre craft, Nyamezela – which means in Xhosa vernacular, to push through tough times – waits for him. Nyamezela, specially built and fitted out in Cape Town, will be Van Kets’s home away from home for 50 to 120 days, depending on how he fares during the race. Van Kets says he is hoping to shatter the standing solo record of 78 days. Of huge relief to Van Kets is the fact that his boat has been cleared by customs and on Wednesday was on board a barge heading for the start. More relief came in the form of manager Cliff Coombe, who arrived on Wednesday from Hermanus, near Cape Town. Nyamezela will undergo further tests in La Gomera and two further instruments still need to be fitted to the craft. Also on board Nyamezela will be four cameras that will record every second of Van Kets’s epic attempt, one of which will be waterproofed, allowing him to film under water. Van Kets admits to feeling nervous. “I have butterflies but not for myself but rather for my wife Kim and daughter Hannah. I will keep wondering if they will be OK while I’m away. They won’t be there to see me off at the start as it’s very traumatic. They will be there to meet me at race end.’’ Van Kets added he still hoped to put on three kilograms. “I weigh 89kg at the moment but will lose a lot of weight while at sea. Once I come down to 70kg problems will set in and I’ll become weaker,’’ he explained. During his first crossing Van Kets shed 18kg. Though the race starts on December 6, Van Kets said his race had started as early as February this year already. “Millions and millions of things had to be seen to. Having Cliff around will be a great help and in the last few days I want to focus, race and survive.’’ The plan, according to Van Kets, is for him to use the first two-thirds of the race to pace himself and then push hard during the last stretch. He’ll row for 90 minutes and take 90 minutes off for the first two-thirds of the crossing, then shorten his rest periods to one hour. He also expects to be sea-sick for the first three days but not as stressed as in his first crossing. He will be in contact with Kim once a day via satellite phone, of which two will be on board in case one gets damaged or washed away. To follow Van Kets’s progress visit www.rowpeterow.co.za or www.own-your-life.co.za Readers can personally receive text messages on their cellphones from Van Kets when he leaves the Canary Islands, and at the same time support his charity of choice, the Carel du Toit School for the Deaf. The package is R50 for one sms every second day and R100 for a daily sms. Included in updates will be weather conditions, race news, total distance covered, distance still to go, and comments from Van Kets. Phone us on 072 753 0900 for more details. - By BRIAN McLEAN SOLO ROWERS VAN KETS WILL BE UP AGAINST Charlie Pitcher, United Kingdom (InsureandGo) James Ketchell, United Kingdom (Speedo) Lee McNamara, United Kingom (2Hopes) Leo Rosette, United States (Halcyon) Sean McGowan, Ireland (Tess) David Brooks, United Kingdom (Team Panasonic) |