Meet the ‘idiot’ who plans to travel 32,000km by jetski

WELLINGTON - Kiwi adventurer Jeremy Burfoot has now learnt to ignore people when they call an idiot for attempting to traverse 32,000km from London to New Zealand on a jetski.

After all, even he’d felt the idea was stupid when he heard it.

Burfoot, 51, an airline pilot, is set to leave London on Sunday morning and will spend up to 12 hours a day for four months astride a jetski as he travels to the southern hemisphere.

The idea came from his first officer, who suggested it as a follow-up to Burfoot’s record-breaking 2005 jetski journey circumnavigating New Zealand.

“I said: ‘You’re an idiot. What kind of a fool would do that?’ He grabbed his atlas out and we were looking at it, and it looked pretty interesting,” The New Zealand Herald quoted Burfoot, as saying.

The voyage carries the risk of possible encounters with sharks, bad weather and pirates along the way.

However, Burfoot says it’s all for a good cause.

He aims to shatter the world record for riding a personal watercraft as well as raise awareness about cancer prevention, after battling skin cancer himself in the past.

Burfoot said: “What it’s about is the healthy living to prevent cancer in the first place - not going out in the sun, and eating reasonably good food, and staying healthy.

“But even if you do, you’re not guaranteed of not getting cancer, so it’s also early detection that we’re talking about.

“If you get these things early, they’re curable - that’s the message.”

Four other men will join Burfoot as he weaves around the world’s waterways, setting off from the River Thames outside London’s Houses of Parliament on August 1.

The standard-size jetskis will be packed with technical equipment to document the adventure, safety gear, some high-energy food, camping accessories and “very little” personal belongings.

Burfoot expects to complete the journey towards the end of November. (ANI)