Six women begin 8,000 kilometer paddleboard charity journey from Peru to French Polynesia
Six women are attempting to paddle 8,000 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean to raise awareness about how sport can help cancer patients overcome emotional distress.
These women -- one from Spain and the others French -- set off from Lima with their single board and paddles heading for Mo'orea in French Polynesia.
"We're going to attempt an unprecedented challenge: connecting Lima to Mo'orea on a board. We're six water women," Stephanie Geyer Barneix said from the Lima Rowing Club before setting off.
"It is a project that has been three years in the making. Today it is being realized," added the 47-year-old, a survivor of breast cancer.
"We're going to paddle day and night to try to arrive at the end of March in Mo'orea."
The women will take turns on one board, swapping places every hour, to paddle standing up while the other five rest in a catamaran traveling behind it with first aid personnel aboard.
All six are athletes and trained coast guards, aged between 22 and 47.
They will each paddle for about four hours a day, with Geyer Barneix expecting them to advance five to six kilometers every hour.
Emmanuelle Bescheron, Itziar Abascal, Margot Calvet, Marie Goyeneche, Alexandra Lux and Stephanie Geyer Barneix pose with their paddle board ahead of their attempt to cross the Pacific Ocean.
The expedition aims to raise funds for Hope Team East, an association that supports people suffering from or recovering from cancer through sport.
