MCS supporter, Richard Harpham and his Big 5 Kayak Challenge team arrive in Marrakesh at the end of a gruelling journey to raise funds for MCS.
Richard Harpham and the Big 5 Team cycled into Marrakesh on November 6th, completing 2,363 miles of their amazing London to Marrakesh Express expedition on cycles and kayaks - all to raise cash for MCS.
They may have finished but it's not too late to help boost the funds -
The challenge draws to a close two years of expeditions by Richard and his team which has seen them travel a total of 4,629 miles around various parts of the world, mainly in kayaks.
The London to Marrakesh leg has provided the sternest challenge yet including sea kayaking the English Channel and crossing the Gibraltar Straits, two of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Richard also kayaked parts of the Spanish Mediterranean Coast, Fort Boyard near La Rochelle in a moderate sea state and paddled the huge Atlantic Breakers off Casablanca. Whilst Richard completed all the expeditions, he has been joined by an amazing support cast, and different team members along the way.
Completing a journey of nearly 2,000 miles is not without hardship and a fair amount of adventures. The team have already kayaked the English Channel, cycled over Pyrenees ascending to peaks over 1000m and have cycled Spain’s ‘Widow-maker’ N340 highway (reputedly the most dangerous road in Europe). They have have covered over 95 miles a day on the bikes at various times which also has also taken its toll with fatigue.
Richard's adventures on the journey have included getting knocked off in Le Mans by a bus, various spills off-road, getting lost, cycling on motorways and even rescuing two sailors who were experiencing difficulties in their Laser dinghy. He also suffered Anaphylactic Shock after eating some Octopus en route and was forced to stop cycling and get medical attention at a local hospital. They suggested 3 days rest to which the reply was that he intended to be in the saddle the following day! All to raise cash for MCS - surely worth putting your hand in your pocket for!
Richard said: "It was amazing to stand on the Rock in Gibraltar having achieved so much and come so far. Seeing Africa, another continent, is pretty special and brings with it some more challenges and still a final stage to complete this journey."
Sea kayaking a small section from Casablanca to the South proved to be one of the most demanding aspects of the trip. The Atlantic swell was huge to the extent that most of the local surfers and other marine craft did not head out for a few days. The dumping surf and erratic sea state prevented Richard and team mate Oliver Jay from launching next to the iconic Hassan II Mosque as planned.
Their launch site with waves and swell between 3-4 metres required courage and nerve as well as plenty of skill. “A small crowd of locals watched in amazement as we paddled into huge walls of foam and surf. A couple of locals explained to us it was too dangerous before we went out and we must be crazy. As sea kayakers we were prepared to try and fail but not trying was not an option for the Big 5 kayak challenge having come this far. Even after we were out the back of the breakers we faced large swell and could hear thunderous noise of waves breaking.” explained Richard.
Richard has been doing surveys of rubbish and plastics on various beaches along the way and has counted 252 bits of plastic in a 5 metre square area in the Med, 82 bits of plastic on Rathlin Island off the Irish Coast (exp. 9) and even 22 pieces of plastic at Delta L’Ebre ( a nature reserve). This is part of providing evidence on the scale of pollution and to highlight the important work of the Marine Conservation Society.
Support Richard and the team here and read more about this amazing challenge here.
