Kyle first to tackle port-to-port swim
TAKING challenges in his stride comes naturally for open-ocean swimmer Kyle Main, who will tomorrow be the first to tackle a 20km swim between Nelson Mandela Bay’s two ports.
The Humewood resident agreed to the challenge after being approached by representatives of the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and Michael Zoetmulder, of Zsports, to form a unique aspect to the list of attractions at this weekend’s inaugural People’s Port Festival.
Main, 34, will depart with his team of five from the Port of Ngqura at 7am and expects to arrive at the Port of Port Elizabeth a little more than an hour after the festival gates open at 10am.
Main’s team, who will accompany him in a boat, include a medic, coach and paddler.
“I am the first person to do the swim and that was one of the major drawcards,” he said.
“I really enjoy new challenges and this swim will definitely have some challenges of its own.”
Main said in preparation for an event he would have eight to 10 two-hour sessions a week.
Completing his longest swim in 2014, he swam 35km up the Bushmans River.
“I will be swimming against the current so it will take about 4½ hours,” he said.
“But I try not to think about that too much. Pain and fatigue are something you prepare for mentally in advance.”
TNPA Port of Port Elizabeth manager Rajesh Dana said the two-day festival, entrance to which is free, would showcase a blend of port operations, the marine economy, local and international tourism and leisure pursuits available in the city.
“In receiving international flagged vessels, our port is a melting pot of cultures and nationalities, and it’s a focal point in so many ways for so many, and we want people to experience this theatre of port operations,” Dana said. “It’s our motivation for the People’s Port Festival.”
The activities include a watersports programme, live entertainment, a firework display, ferry trips, a fresh fish market and food trucks.