Ultra swimmer Sarah tackles plastic pollution

ULTRA swimmer Sarah Ferguson is taking on her toughest challenge yet – a 1 500km swim along the coast from Durban to Cape Town.

As the driving force behind conservation platform Breathe Conservation, Ferguson is focused on raising public awareness about the devastating impact plastic pollution in oceans and rivers is having on our planet.

Ferguson announced her bold plan to swim along the South African coastline at the Sublime World Ocean Day Swim.

This week she told the Independent on Saturday she would take on “the wildest coastline in the world” as she plans to swim the distance in stages.

The logistics are complicated so “we are giving ourselves a full year into 2023 to complete the swim”, she said.

Ferguson’s Guinness World Record non-stop swim around Chile’s Easter Island in November 2019 made history as she was the first to do this, and it was a major challenge – but she said her proposed South African coastline swim was an even bigger challenge.

“It’s a huge undertaking from a logistical point of view and I hope to start in March. It will probably take a year to complete as I will take winter (June, July and August 2022) off. That’s when the ocean is the winter feeding ground for great whites (sharks) and the Sardine Run. Even so, I’ll face massive currents and marine life such as jellyfish and bluebottles.

“With lockdown and Covid, we’ve been looking for the next swim to crewate awareness around plastic pollution. Our own coast is incredibly beautiful and not enough is being done about awareness around plastic pollution.

“I grew up in Cape Town but I live in Durban, so it’ll be a home-fromhome swim,” she said.

During her winter break, Ferguson will take ocean plastic pollution awareness to schools, and will recommence her swim in September 2022.

Highlighting the plastic pollution problem in the Umgeni River in Durban, Ferguson said: “A lot of rivers feed into the Umgeni and with it a lot of rubbish.” This includes plastic bottles and caps, drinking straws, chip packets, ear buds, flip-flop sandals and “a lot of polystyrene”.

“Plastic never disappears, it causes a toxic build-up and our marine life is suffocating. It affects the whole chain (of marine ecosystems),” she said.

“But it’s not too late and we’ve got to keep fighting. In the short break during Covid lockdown, carbon dioxide emissions dropped significantly, which is a sign it can be done.

“Nature is amazing and will restore itself if we leave it alone. Each consumer can make changes to daily life and it’s important to raise awareness with youth as they will create change.”

Ferguson said she would start training for her Durban to Cape Town swim in August.

“I train all the time, but once I start training in August, I’ll have to put on weight for the distances I’ll be covering and acclimatise for time in the water,” she said, adding that she enjoyed smoothies and soups to gain weight.

“This swim is going to be a super big swim and far more challenging than the Easter Island swim,” she said.

Oceans cover 70% of the planet and produce at least 50% of the world’s oxygen. They are also the main source of protein for more than a billion people, while an estimated 40 million people will be employed in ocean-based industries by 2030.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, at least 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year and make up 80% of all marine debris from surface water to deep-sea sediment.

Plastic pollution is now regarded as a major threat to marine life and marine ecology, with almost 90% of big fish population having been depleted and 50% of coral reefs destroyed.

World Oceans Day was marked on June 8.