A 215km world record attempt dedicated to a late friend
The Guinness World Record for the longest ocean paddle in 24 hours has stood at 214km since 2015 when New Zealander Tim Taylor achieved this feat. However, our very own Durban paddler, Quinton Rutherford, is ready to smash this record in November.
From Cape Vidal to Durban Harbour, that's the distance 50-year-old Quinton Rutherford tells Sky Tshabalala he has been working hard to conquer.
Having been a waterman all his life, Rutherford has been surf skiing for over 30 years and the obsession has only grown stronger.
"I do a bit of river paddling, I've done a lot of Dusis, but my passion is in the ocean.
"I've done 25 Dusis, 18 non-stops. I've done a number of paddles from PE to East London - I've done about nine of those, so I've got one more to go so do 10. I've done 10 Cape Point Challenges and most of the big paddling events in South Africa... paddling's my life, it gets me through the week," he says.
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The veteran paddler, who will embark on a journey of 215km distance - which he aims to complete in the required 24 hours whilst being closely monitored by representatives from Guinness World Records - will be doing so for charity, but that is not his only motivation. Another great motivation is his friend who passed away in a plane crash just before lockdown.
"His name was Mark Perrow and I paddled with him for the last two years. He was a great paddler and he's won every canoeing race on the South African calendar... he's been to the Olympics. He was a great paddler, great inspiration. He would've been in the boat paddling with me if he was still here," he adds.
Listen to the full interview as Rutherford and Sky discuss diet and exercise, the costs involved in making this attempt a success, and how you can be a part of this amazing story.
For queries, send an email to [email protected] or call 078 903 3374. You can also check out Rutherford's amazing journey here.
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IMAGE CREDIT: Instagram/_queueball
Catch up with moments from the latest edition of Darren, Keri, and Sky below: