DIGBY Jacobs and the rest of the Ski4CF team are out to do something that has never been done before.
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In February, the team of six, including two skiers, two drivers and observers, and two committee members, will set out to ski the full 2438-kilometre navigable length of the Murray River.
It’ll take more than 13 days to complete the gruelling journey, but for Mr Jacobs, it’ll be worth it if they can raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Community Care.
His son Archie has the genetically-acquired disease, while his eldest Matilda is a CF carrier.
It's a bit daunting, we're not really sure how our feet will hold up over the duration of the journey.
- Ben Berry, skier
They chose to relocate to Deniliquin from Melbourne for cleaner air which, along with a lot of hard work and help, helped Archie overcome many of the challenges cystic fibrosis presents.
“We made Archie play a wind instrument, had him practice and perform and eventually he took his clarinet as his major at university,” Mr Jacobs said.
“He now teaches as a music and drama teacher in a school in the south east of Melbourne.
“He has benefited from the brilliant research done by those in cystic fibrosis medical, dietetics, physiotherapy and psychology support teams.”
The team has been affected by the disease in many ways – committee member Rosemary Britton lost both of her sisters to cystic fibrosis, while skier Scott Collins’ mother passed away because of the disease when he was just two-years-old.
Ben Berry, who will be sharing the skiing duties alongside Mr Collins when the team sets out on February 28, said the sheer length of the trip was something he believed had never been done before.
“It's a bit daunting, we're not really sure how our feet will hold up over the duration of the journey,” he said.
“From our knowledge, a few have done it from the Hume Dam, but nobody has tried going through the Upper Murray area.
“There’s some challenging spots where it’ll be quite rocky and shallow.
“Scott and I are just preparing to hold on, some days we’re going to be going for five hours or so.
“Some legs are going to be more than 200 kilometres as well, we’re hoping to sit in the 50-70km/h zone for most of it, but we’ll have to slow down in other parts.
“It’s all coming together now, we’ve had this in the works for about 18 months, so it’s exciting that it’s so close.
“It’ll be a massive challenge, but the end goal is to raise as much money as we can. We’re all looking forward to starting now that we have a bit of momentum.”
Get involved at www.skifcf.com.au.
