PORT Elizabeth ultra distance adventure swimmer Kyle Main will attempt a crossing from the Port of Coega to the Port Elizabeth harbour, as part of the attractions at the People’s Port Festival on March 25 and 26, managed by Magnetic Storm on behalf of Transnet.
Having earned a reputation for undertaking pioneering swims under harsh conditions, Main, a swim coach based at Virgin Active Greenacres and former national swimming champion, will take a straight line between the two ports.
Much of the 20km, more than five times the distance of the Ironman Ultra swim leg, will be in the natural shipping lanes so Main will be seconded by boats and a paddler.
There will be sharks but I will have four shark shields on the ski and boats around me
“I will be swimming against the natural current so it will be very tough. Hopefully the wind will play ball,” says Main who has a number of major swims to his name, that last of which was a four-hour effort in treacherous conditions between the uninhabited tropical islands of Mauritius late last year.
Main suggests the water quality would be good, but that sharks posed a greater threat.
“There will be sharks but I will have four shark shields on the ski and boats around me and they have been reliable and a very effective deflector in the past.”
Main spanned the 20km Rottnest Channel off Australia in an African record time in 2015 and swam the Straits of Gibraltar (16km) in the fastest recorded time that year – 2013.
The People’s Port Festival is no ordinary festival taking place this weekend. Marked with entertaining activities for the whole family with exciting things related to the Port Elizabeth Port. Water sport activities will include a Port2Port Surf Ski race on Saturday morning and lifesaving Surf Boat racing on the Sunday.
