NO WIND or wave could halt Brian “De Action Man” Talma’s paddle around Barbados on Tuesday.
Despite the unstable weather conditions, Talma, accompanied by paddle surfer Jimmy Marshall, set off on a journey, which lasted more than 15 hours, to show gratitude to the island they call home.
Last week Talma announced that he was going to take up the challenge as a way of saying thanks for being selected as one of the 25 national sporting icons as well as in celebration of Barbados’ 50th anniversary of Independence.
Talma told WEEKEND SPORT it was the most challenging paddle he had ever undertaken.
“We started at 5:15 a.m. and by 6 a.m. there were some huge waves. There was wind and rain and we couldn’t even see Barbados.
“I got hit by one [wave]. I lost my board. I lost everything and then I had to swim around in the northern part of the island, just me. That’s why it was most challenging, there was no rescue boat and there was nobody around,” he said.
Talma, who completed the journey in 16 hours 40 minutes, said it was quite physical having to paddle for hours, even in darkness, since they finished the paddle later that night, but it was more of a mental game.
“I started cramping really badly. If you cramp you can drown easily and when you get tired you start to get delusional. There were fish jumping around, but as you become one with the water it got better. It’s a very big mental game,” he said.
The veteran surfer said he was enthralled with Marshall, who was able to complete the journey in 20 hours and 40 minutes.
“Jimmy Marshall is 60 years old and there [are] a lot of paddle surfers in Barbados, but this really defines him. There are the elements and there is no rescue boat. It is actually a mental thing to finish it because there were challenging parts where you are by yourself and he was by himself,” said Talma.
Marshall said he would compare his journey “to climbing Mount Everest”.
“That’s like 60 or 70 miles. It calls for a lot of endurance and mental strength. I was pleased that I improved my time and did something many people can’t,” he said.
He added that he also wanted to prove to people that age was just a number because you can do anything you set your mind to do. (RG)
