Walking/Pedaling on Water......for a good cause.

trudeehunter(71)

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Walking/Pedaling on Water......for a good cause.

I met a very interesting man over the weekend. I'd seen him doing a TV interview just days before meeting him and was keen to ask him a few questions.

But before I did, I'd noticed him struggling against the wind and rough seas along the shoreline at Suttons Beach during the Festival of Sails celebrations which happened to coincide with the yearly Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race.

This is the post if you'd like to see it. Click here:

This unique man goes by the name Ben Ferris......or alternatively, 'Ferris Gump.' And he is in the first stages of pedaling from Byron Bay in New South Wales to Cairns in Queensland; all the way towards the top of Australia. That is a total of 1162 miles or 1870 kilometers.

Now is the time to ask why a person (no matter how fit) would put themselves through what appears to me, to be a very arduous task indeed. Well. It takes passion and drive......and a very worthy cause. And in Ben's case, the cause is......to rid our waterways from plastic pollution. He is supporting a group called 'The Seabin Project.'

The aim of the Seabin Project is to provide sea bins in all the coastal marinas throughout Australia. But they don't want to to stop there. They have a global vision and are doing all they can to encourage all countries who have sea borders to get on board.

Ben Ferris is taking this goal literally as his vehicle for pedaling up to Cairns is an adapted surf board fitted with safety gear and the bare necessities to ensure his survival, whist completing his mission.

When asked what inspired him to go on this journey he said it was because of his connection and love of the ocean, The famous Great Barrier Reef and of course, his passion for cleaning up the ocean.

I watched an interesting video filmed just three days ago where a female reporter asked Ben if he'd had any scary moments since leaving Byron Bay. He didn't hesitate to admit that indeed, he has had some pretty hectic moments which include a few scary ones too.

I personally witnessed him fall off his board just off shore at Suttons Beach and commiserated with him, knowing that even though he had a wet suit on, it would have been very uncomfortable for him. If this happened regularly, which he assured me it did, how did he keep dry, I wondered? Perhaps he didn't, until it was time to bed down for the night between long stints in the water.

He told me he had lost four phones already and still had a long way to go. Ben has admitted that compared to riding/running on land, doing it on water was a much more challenging process.

The Seabin Project has sponsored Ferris with his Peddle board, safety gear and support but he still requires further sponsors and support to make sure his epic trip is successful.