Puttinu kayakers paddle home exhausted

Puttinu kayakers Albert Gambina and Dorian Vassallo victoriously paddled into the golden Għajn Tuffieħa's sand yesterday after a gruelling six-day trip from Tunisia.

A large group greeted the sun-tanned men as they triumphantly paddled into shore accompanied by cameramen who went out to greet them.

"We are very pleased to have concluded the distance," a beaming Dorian Micallef said.

This is the first time a Maltese national has covered such a long distance - 175 nautical miles (324 kilometres) - in a kayak.

The Maltese team was accompanied by two other teams from Italy and Tunisia.

They admitted to being exhausted.

"The first and last bit were the most tiring," Mr Vassallo admitted. "The first stretch between Mahdia (Tunisia) and Lampedusa meant 25 hours of continuous paddling, with the last 20 miles against Force 5 wind, which was a big challenge for us."

The last paddle home from Linosa was particularly trying because of the pile up of exhaustion from the previous days, he said.

The trip was interspersed with many moments of excitement. It is only out at sea that one can experience majestic leaping dolphins and gliding sea turtles at arm's length. In fact, the paddlers told of many such joyous encounters, though they confessed being initially shocked when they spotted a large dark shadow close to the belly of their small vessel. Luckily, all went well when this turned out to be a curious dolphin.

Stimulated by the sad loss of family members to cancer, both men decided to channel their energy towards raising awareness of the disease while collecting money to help sufferers through Puttinu Cares Foundation.

Accompanied by escort vessels, the duo paddled the first 75 nautical miles in about 25 hours to Lampedusa, leaving for Linosa after some rest, while waiting for bad weather to settle. The next eight-hour leg, about 25 nautical miles, was followed by another rest and the final stretch of sea -another 75 nautical miles or so - to Malta tested their endurance for another 26 unforgiving hours.

The Tunisia crossing was held under the patronage of President George Abela.

After the arduous expedition, Mr Vassallo said that, no matter how much he was enjoying the adrenaline rush, he looked forward to going home and "konking out".

Any donations can be sent to Puttinu Cares Foundation at Wonderland Ward, Mater Dei Hospital. More information is accessible on the Kayak for Cancer Malta's Facebook page and www.puttinucares.org.