End almost in sight for pair rowing down to Rio

Seven weeks after one South African adventurer, Chris Bertish, completed the first Atlantic crossing on a stand-up paddleboard, two more are about to complete the most southerly row across the ocean.

Braam Malherbe and Wayne Robertson are spending the weekend sheltering from a storm about 500km from their destination, Rio de Janeiro.

The forecast says they should be able to leave on the last lap today or tomorrow, and they expect to be in Rio on Thursday or Friday.

They set out on February 7 in their 6.8m vessel, and for much of their voyage they have rowed alternate two-hour shifts after a storm overturned their boat, Mhondoro, and they lost one of their seats.

Spokeswoman Osi Raviv said: "Their hi-tech satellite phone system ... and their daggerboard were also damaged but they managed, in their typical MacGyver-like style, to repair some of the equipment.

"Another factor which has caused complications is the unseasonable cloudiness, which has compromised their solar water-purification and charging apparatus."

The Capetonians embarked from their home city on the 7,000km row in support of Malherbe's Do One Thing Challenge, which encourages people to do one thing for the planet every day.

"It is the most southern row that has ever been done and first to leave from South Africa," said Raviv.

The last week had been one of the most difficult, with a storm pushing them backwards and hazardous navigation through the Rio shipping lane.

"They had quite a few close encounters, with eight huge shipping vessels at the same time in one night."

Malherbe is an experienced adventurer, having run the 4200km Great Wall of China and the 3278km South African coastline .

Robertson joined the voyage a week before leaving with only two hours' rowing experience under his belt.

His wife, Cindy, said Malherbe accepted an offer from Robertson, a yacht builder and composite specialist, to prepare the boat.

"The funny thing is that in my gut I had a feeling right then he was going to row to Rio, and when the phone call from Braam came one evening, asking him to go, he just looked at me with big eyes," she said.