Robben Island Balloon Run

I was born in Cape Town in 1976. From the age of 1 I was running around Fishhoek Beach which is on the Cape’s peninsula. When I was 8 years old I got my first Waveski and have been surfing ever since. It was from surfing that I started to study the wind and weather around the Western Cape, little did I know that some time later, I’d be studying it again but this time wanting a SW wind to take me safely from Robben Island to the mainland.
	I had just started high-school in 1990 when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. I remember everybody being excited but also very nervous about the future. I was lucky enough to experience the transition of South Africa in Apartheid to a free South Africa. I never really had a feeling for South Africa in the Apartheid era as I was too young to understand my environment, but I recall when I was 14 somebody from the Army visited our school to enlist us into the army. At that time, conscription was in force.
I refused to put my name down and it caused a real furora. It was resolved only when my guidance teacher told me that by the time I was old enough, conscription wouldn’t be mandatory but that if I refused to put my name down that a record of this would be keep and it may lead to more trouble in the future. In 1994, my last year of school, the first free elections were held in South Africa. I started a BSc degree in 1995 and South Africa won the Rugby World Cup, anything seemed possible! In 1999 I was fortunate enough to travel around Southern Africa in Dee Dee our beloved Land Rover for 3 months with 3 mates, Shandor, Mark and Clint. It was one of the most incredible experiences and included the big 5, Vic Falls, Lake Malawi and 100 war stories!
	At 16 I joined the St. John’s service and progressed through different courses until in 1998 I got my BAA certificate and was able to be a volunteer in the Cape Town Ambulance Service. I would do the Friday and Saturday 7pm-7am shifts as this is when the volunteers would be most needed. This was my first real experience of the townships and a part of South Africa that was very different to my upbringing, as I was on the State Ambulance. I saw some terrible things and was involved in a couple of really scary episodes but all in all my experience left me feeling very positive about humanity. You might find this odd, but when you’re part of the Ambulance Service you normally arrive after the event, and at that time, everybody is trying to help the injured person, even though sometimes they are doing exactly the wrong thing like move a person out of their car after a MVA (Motor Vehicle Accident) or by taking the knife out! It was during my time as a volunteer that I first came into contact
with the only paediatric hospital in Southern Africa. The Red Cross Children’s Hospital. This is a truly wonderful institution and has been one of my inspirations. I studied a BSc at the University of Cape Town and got a sales job in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2001 I joined a company called Covidien and in 2002 was offered a position in France at the company’s European training headquarters. Living in France was a huge adjustment. As a South African, one values ‘The Tourist’, due to our history and because they represent a source of income for South Africa. For this reason most people in South Africa are very friendly to foreigners…it’s not quite the same in France, especially around Paris. That being said we made some very good friends and had some wonderful experiences.
Exploding Water Rocket Video!!	At the end of 2003, I was offered a Marketing role in the UK. I now live in the town of Rugby, where the game started. I must confese that I didn’t know that the town existed and when I first appoached a guy in the town center and asked: “Why is this town called Rugby?” He must of thought I was pulling his leg, especially with my South African accent. The idea of the Robben Island Balloon Run started with a conversation with my best mate, Stephen Coates. I’ve know Steve since I was 7 and he’s always landed my in deep water! As an example of the kinds of these that Steve forces me to do, I would like to enter into evidence the adjacent Exhibit A: The Exploding Water Rocket Video. For further evidence of Stephen’s deluded and sad exsistence, please see Exhibit B, The Braai Video.
Steve and I were having a conversation about what it would feel like to walk on the moon. The conversation continued, trying to establish whether it would be possible to similate this experience on the Earth. We resolved that if you had 5/6 lifting power (generated by helium filled balloons)/your body weight then it could work. The conversation continued with, “I wonder how far you could jump”, if you were attached to these balloons, ultimately culminating in: “Imaging being able to jump from Robben Island to Cape Town!!” Since that	The Braai Video!!