The Ultimate Ride is the fresh challenge Burfoot needed after being the first to circumnavigate New Zealand in a personal watercraft, commonly known as a jet ski, to raise funds for cancer research. Burfoot and his team are well advanced in the planning needed to break the current personal water craft distance record of 18,400 km.
“We’re tackling one of the world’s most iconic routes; the London-to-Sydney journey has been made famous by all kinds of intrepid travellers – though none have tried it on a personal watercraft,” says Burfoot. “The eyes of the world will be on this attempt. The ultimate joy for me would be to get the message about early prevention of cancer, and the need for regular health checks, out to as many people around the world as possible.”
Burfoot is motivated by his own battle with cancer and his desire to ensure funds are put into researching the one disease that both the developed and developing world are struggling to combat. The team will be working with cancer organisations in each country they pass through to help raise the profile of the event and its goals.
The Ultimate Ride will set off from London on August 1 for one of the world’s most difficult water routes. The team will travel more than half-way around the globe, enduring challenging weather and treacherous oceans with piracy, shark infested waters, language barriers and bureaucratic nightmares just some of the hazards along the way. The journey will culminate in Auckland at the end of November.
In 2006 Burfoot and Brad Burton took their personal watercraft on a 5,000 km, 19-day “warm up and shake down” ride around New Zealand. A number of organisations, including the Cancer Society of New Zealand, got on board with the ride as a means of drawing publicity to their cause. Burfoot wrote a book, The Ride around New Zealand, about the experience.
Planning is now well advanced for this year’s journey. The organisers have set up a trust and are seeking further sponsors to assist them with the journey, as well as gaining attention in the international media on the goal of raising funds for cancer research. A major naming rights sponsor for the Ultimate Ride challenge is still available. A website www.london-sydney.org has also been launched and will be used to track the progress of the journey before, after and during the event.
The Ultimate Ride is also offering opportunities for individuals to join the team on parts of the journey. See ‘Join Us’ on the website for more details.
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