A crew of five young mates from the Northern Beaches will complete their gruelling kayak crossing of Bass Strait today 11 January 2024, aiming to land this afternoon between 1 and 2pm at Little Mussell Row Bay in Tasmania.
Ben Taylor, 23, Tim Taylor, 22, Jono Hargreaves, 21, Matt Taubman, 19, and Eddie Hosken, 20, set out from Port Welshpool Victoria on 30 December 2023 in the name of mental health – fundraising and creating awareness for the Black Dog Institute.
Their aim for the challenge was to raise $32,000 – which would have been $100 for every kilometre covered crossing Bass Strait.
They have blown this fundraising target out of the water, so far raising more than $38,000.
The crew lost a mate to suicide at just 17-years-old in 2020 and have been committed to doing something in his memory that was in line with his adventurous spirit and giving nature.
Ideas were kicked around, and they settled on crossing one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world by kayak and their STRAIT TO TASSIE fundraising challenge was born.
The tight knit team consists of two experienced kayakers, two novices and one who had only kayaked a handful of times.
They undertook a gruelling training regime and meticulous planning for 12 months to cover the 320km from the Victorian coast to land in Tassie – and carried 3 weeks’ worth of food incase bad weather meant they had to bunker down on Islands along the way.
Further details and images are available on their socials at:
https://www.instagram.com/strait_to_tassie/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550287119345
https://www.teamblackdog.org.au/fundraisers/StraittoTassie
Lifeline Australia 13 11 14
