“We can be Heroes, just for one day,” the song lyrics of, Heroes, by David Bowie, says swimmer, Christopher Mullineux, perfectly encapsulates the feeling he had as part of the False Bay Crazeez team who took on the Swim the Bay for Books challenge in support of Masikhule, non-profit organisation on the morning of Friday March 22.
“The False Bay crossing is an iconic swim. Looking into a deep ocean at the sun rays reflecting off millions of jelly fish larvae reminded me of a galaxy far away. We were lucky to have pristine conditions, to steal time together, to swim like dolphins and do it all for a good cause and feel like heroes just for one day,” says Christopher about the experience.
The team made up of Christopher, David Hall, Amy Landsdell and Maskihule founder, Léanne Keet, swam the 33km marathon swim from Miller’s Point to Rooi Els beach and on the day headed out to sea before sunrise undeterred by cold and misty conditions.
Léanne says the team not only completed the relay swim with a finishing time of 11 hours and 16 minutes, but in accomplishing their goal, they have become the 11th relay team to successfully complete the swim across the False Bay crossing.
The conditions at sea during the execution of this swim were from what could be gathered from the team’s accounts, favourable and conducive to them achieving their end goal.
Amy, who started off the first stage in the relay, sums up the experience: “What an incredible experience to spend the day with the best people doing what we love, chatting, laughing and of course swimming. It is a surreal experience to jump off the boat in the middle of False Bay, but what a blast, I loved every minute of it.”
David echoes the same sentiment in the unbelievable nature of the experience. “To jump off a boat in the middle of False Bay with no land in sight due to heavy mist and cloud was a surreal experience but one I shall never ever forget. The fact that we swam in seas that are the home of the Great White made it even more special but added a tad of anxiety and sleepless nights.”
The experience was indeed a memorable one. “The camaraderie the banter, the chirping and friendships made will be etched into my memory for decades to come,” he adds.
Although exhausted when reaching Rooi Els, David says they found comfort in knowing that their efforts were towards a greater and worthwhile goal. Fortunately he says, calm seas and windless conditions counted in their favour.
The swim was a fund-raiser to buy books and distribute it to the ECD centres assisted by Masikhule. Throughout the swim, Léanne says they were mindful of the magnitude of the swim and its impact on the improvement of literacy skills on the children residing in the Helderberg basin attending the ECD centres Masikhule works with.
The amount raised says, Léanne surpassed their expectations and thanked all donors who supported the cause. At the time of going to print the Swim the Bay for Books campaign on GivenGain.com raised a total of R46 421.
The public can still support this initiative at www.givengain.com/campaign/swim-the-bay-for-books
