Six women, five French and one Spaniard, rowed for 80 days from Peru to French Polynesia. Their goal: to raise funds for the fight against childhood cancer.
Six women arrived Saturday on the island of Moorea, in French Polynesia, after having taken turns rowing on a board for 80 days, from Peru, for a solidarity challenge against cancer.
With this sporting adventure, the “Cap optimist” expedition wishes to help children with cancer and those accompanying them.
Leaving Lima on January 4, these five French women and a Spaniard were welcomed some 8,000 kilometers further by hundreds of Polynesians, some of whom were suffering from cancer. They traveled the last few meters on a traditional six-seater canoe before reuniting with their families.
“A mental and human challenge”
“It’s a lot of joy and a great relief, the culmination of a three-year project with the preparation: I find my daughter after an exceptional welcome,” said one of the rowers, Alexandra Lux.
“It was really hard to row each four hours a day, but it was also a mental and human challenge, to live together on a small boat”, admitted another rower, Emmanuelle Bescheron.
All of them are top athletes and one of them, world coastal rescue champion Stéphanie Barneix, has overcome four cancers.
The rowers took turns every hour, day and night, to make their crossing lying down or squatting on a large paddle board.
800,000 euros collected
This challenge of the Hope Team East association raises funds to equip health centers with sports equipment and support children with cancer.
Each kilometer covered brought in 100 euros, which enabled the six women to collect 800,000 euros, divided 40% to finance the challenge and 60% for solidarity actions.
The rowers will go to schools on Monday, then to the hospital in Tahiti and to the new Cancer Institute of French Polynesia, to promote sport and health.