It took these light-hearted, laid back, Li-Lo ‘extremists’ two hours to drift along with the current to the Knysna Waterfront.
Accompanying them on their maiden voyage were a host of supporters and safety personnel, who often doubled as waiters, travelling alongside the happy floaters to ensure their comfort and safety.
"They [the extreme drifters] were participating in the wet run of the proposed annual Lilo Extreme Swift Drift," explained Sheldon Meese, one of the organisers.
It began as an idea, hatched by some friends over a few drinks at a braai, to organise an event that allowed a large group of people to gather for some instant fun, and the idea quickly gained momentum.
Meese explained that the event needed to fulfil various criteria as well as be a great deal of fun and be accessible to all, not only to the fitness fanatics, but the population as a whole.
"It’s Lilo Extreme today - have been training for months, hope I’ll be in before the six-hour cut off," was Shelly Diesel’s tongue-in-cheek coment on her facebook page on the morning of the drift.
The creators of the event wanted to showcase the Knysna Lagoon, "our community’s most prized asset", as a safe place to enjoy recreational water activities. In addition they wanted to create awareness and collect funds for the NSRI Knysna, "who do such a wonderful job at keeping us safe", expressed Meese.
The creators of the event, Eleste and Vanessa Bain, Linzi Jansen, Jane Lawrenson, Sheldon Meese, Kim Spencer and Diane Taylor explained their delight at the success of the event: "All the participants had a tremendous amount of fun and wanted to know how quickly we would repeat the event.
"A flotilla of Li-Los on the lagoon was definitely a spectacle to behold, as tourists on the cruisers and at the Waterfront not only took photos but enquired about what we were doing, thus we succeeded in creating the awareness that the waters of the lagoon were now safe to enjoy recreational activities in." As this event was not a competition, everybody worked together to ensure the safety of all participants. "The only reason we would need to call out the NSRI is to hand over the money collected by the participants and followers of this event," smiled Meese.
The creators of this event would like to thank the Knysna Municipality, SANParks and the NSRI for ensuring that the lagoon is safe and clean. "This event, however could not have been a success without the help we received from the various skippers, support and safety personnel along the way. But our biggest thanks go out to the brave participants of the event, who through their positive energy and consciousness for the environment and safety made this a truly memorable spectacle," said Meese.
At the time of going to press R2 791 had been raised for the local NSRI by the participants, spectators and support crews. Of this amount, R1 000 was received from The Knysna Waterfront (sponsors of the next event), R300 from Duncan D’Ewes of Unlimited Internet Play and R300 from Eleste Bain of Storage Park.
Jim Parkes of Knysna Woodmill Walk pledged an undisclosed amount. Besides his donation, Parkes expressed interest in assisting with sponsorship of the next Lilo Extreme Swift Drift.
In conclusion Meese said, "Due to the success of this wet run the creators are determined to schedule the first annual event towards the end of February 2012."
For further information, contact Sheldon Meese on 082 495 8662.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS HERE.
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A gaggle of Li-Lo drifters, who took to the Knysna Lagoon on Saturday, November 12.
ARTICLE: FRAN KIRSTEN, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
