Retired national swimmer Sarah Ferguson is raising awareness on plastic pollution and the importance of conserving South Africa’s magnificent coastline by doing the One Ocean Swim from Durban to Cape Town.
Ferguson, who is a Durban resident, began her journey last week at the Durban Undersea Club. She covered 12.7km on her first day and by the third day she reached mid-South Coast waters.
She has already swum past Umkomaas, Scottburgh and Park Rynie.
On day six last Sunday, Ferguson and her team were at the Cutty Sark beach in Scottburgh where they launched their boat to head out to sea.
The swimmer is taken out to sea by boat for every swim, where she then determines in which direction she would do her day’s kilometres depending on the current, and thereafter taken back to shore to rest before another day’s swim.
She was able to swim 15.42km on Sunday a little further down south near the Umzinto area and made it to Mtwalume.
While on her swim, there was a storm and lots of rain which made things a bit more challenging.
“It was tough, but I still had fun,” said Ferguson.
“Once the wind stopped I started getting into a rhythm and my pace increased.”
As Ferguson swims from place to place, she still manages to stop and pick up whatever plastic pollution she comes across on her path.
She is also engaging with local communities on her travels and sharing knowledge on ocean conversation and encouraging beach clean-ups.
This is the elite endurance athlete’s longest and furthest swim she’s ever done.
Back in March 2019, Ferguson became a Guinness World Record holder by becoming the first person to swim around the entire perimeter of Easter Island as part of Swim Against Plastic, a global campaign to help end plastic pollution.
Ferguson, who is also a physiotherapist and motivational speaker, uses her passion for swimming to create a platform to educate and inspire people to change their behaviour towards the ocean.
She is the CEO of Breathe Conservation which has since grown and developed to include a team of people who share the same visions as her.
On Ferguson’s behalf, the Breathe team extends their thanks to everyone who has supported them on the One Ocean Swim so far.
“We are so incredibly grateful for all the generosity we have received in the first week, from food contributions to people offering their homes and holiday homes for us to stay in,” said the team.
“We still get messages daily asking what we need for the next couple of weeks and at this stage our need is monetary as we are still negotiating with the sponsor.”
“We need funds for fuel and logistics and no amount is too small.”
To fund One Ocean Swim, email info@breatheconservation.org for banking details and to follow and support the progress of Ferguson, find Breathe Ocean Conservation on Facebook and Instagram.
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