The Long (Underwater) Walk

Had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Matt Silver-Vallance via Skype on Thursday. Best known for his helium balloon journey from South Africa’s Robben Island to Capetown in 2013, humanitarian, businessman and speaker Silver-Vallance is making plans to repeat the trip.

But there is a wrinkle… he’s not just going to journey from Robben Island to Capetown, he’s planning to do it underwater, in a human-powered, pressurized submersible along with three other “subwalkers.”

The project has already left the drawing board, with corporate and other partners including the Diver Alert Network and South Africa’s Council for Geoscience. The latter has already provided multibeam sonar bathymetric data and a workable route along a “tombolo,” or narrow underwater bridge.

There are going to be a lot of challenges to this project, including visibility, air supply, temperature control, currents, sharks and possibly the limits of human endurance itself. But here’s the best news… this unusual expedition is all in support of Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital of Johannesburg.

Check out the first promo video for the project below: