Six young South Africans finished the Cape2Rio yacht race in third place and were the first monohull to complete the journey on Tuesday 28 January. Team ‘JM Busha 54’ undertook their voyage in the name of peace and unity in Africa, and a member of the Facebook group #Imstaying posted pictures of their achievement saying ‘When the youth band together for a cause bigger than themselves I believe that they become true Patriots and it’s their dedication to peace and unity that makes me happy to say #imstaying’
This annual over-ocean race covers about 3,600 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The team, who were also one the youngest teams to enter the race in 2020, thanked everyone who supported them throughout the journey on their Facebook page: ‘The team is so grateful for all the messages of motivation and for all of the behind the scenes hard work (special thanks to Mike Robinson). A fantastic team effort both on and off the boat. So thankful to have been able to partner with JM busha 54 for the worthy cause of Peace and Unity in Africa.’
The team consisted of Tawanda Chikasha, Emma Clark, Hearn Johnson and Ryan Robinson (from Wits University), Jonathan Ham (University of Pretoria) and Michaela Robinson (University of Pretoria), and clocked 23 days 16 hours 14 minutes 52 seconds of sailing on the Atlantic Ocean, according to New Zimbabwe.
‘The whole idea of us participating in the Cape2Rio yacht race was really to take our peace message global. We are quite excited that our team came first in the Mono Hull category and third overall,’ said Zimbabwean businessman Joseph Makamba Busha, the sponsor of the team.
View some more photos of their journey here.
Image: Instagram
