The flight will take me in two legs, total distance 510 miles, from Inhambane to a little Shark Research Centre, situated on the West coast of Madagascar.
I have been informed earlier this afternoon, that I may now divulge the following: I will have a fuelstop in the middle of the Channel. The US Nimitz is due in July in Cape Town for a joint exercise with the SA Navy in the combatting of piracy, and I will rendesvouz with her in the Mozambique Channel, on her way to Cape Town. She is currently stationed near the coast of Oman. This is part of the PR exercise between the SA and US Navies in demonstrating their intention to keep the East Coast of Africa safe from pirates.
This will be the first landing of a trike on an aircraft carrier!
The only baggage I will be carrying is a self inflatable life raft in the backseat, as well as a life jacket, flares, and positioning system. We are currently negotiating with the Coast Guard to keep a keen eye on me, in the event that I have to ditch in the Mozambique Channel.
The flight will be planned with the weather in mind, and I will only make my attempt once it established that I will have the help of a tailwind. Our initial planning is for early July 2012.
Thanks to everybody on this forum and elsewhere who assisted in all the planning, the work that still needs to be done, and for keeping it secret!
News 24 will be covering this expedition's planning next week in all its major papers - so watch this space.
Asterix jou ou skaap
