07-Sep-2011 | Robert Pennicott, along with fellow skipper Mick Souter and cameraman Zorro Gamarnik, arrived in Hobart on Saturday, 3rd September and are currently in the final weeks of their Follow the Yellow Boat Road journey around Australia. Once complete, the 12,000 mile journey will be the first circumnavigation of Australia and Tasmania in an outboard driven boat ever undertaken in history.
Robert and his crew left Sydney’s Darling Harbour on Thursday, 2nd June, and are circumnavigating Australia in a pair of 5.4m inflatable yellow Naiad ribs (dinghies) for charity. To date, they have travelled more than three quarters of the way around the Australian continent, and are expected to reach Sydney, their end point, in mid September.
Follow the Yellow Boat Road is one of Australia’s largest fundraising efforts, with Robert raising money for conservation and the worldwide eradication of polio. He set out with the aim of raising the additional $39 million needed by Rotary International to hit the $200 million benchmark. With a total pledge by Bill Gates of $355 million, the grand total of $555 million is anticipated to lead to the total worldwide eradication of polio. Just $10 vaccinates 17 children against the disease. Robert is covering all the costs associated with the journey. As a result, all funds raised during his Follow the Yellow Boat Road voyage are donated towards the Polio and conservation cause. $166,292 has been raised to date.
How to Donate
Online donations can be made through the website or by phoning 1800 822 605. For more information on Follow the Yellow Boat Road including the full itinerary, information on the cause and how to donate, visit www.followtheyellowboatroad.com. For the latest video blog updates on Robert’s trip, click here. To show your support for Robert, Follow The Yellow Boat Road on Facebook here.Robert Pennicott
Robert started as a fisherman in the pristine waters of Bruny Island, before creating Bruny Island Cruises in 1999 out of a desire to show people the rugged beauty of Southern Tasmania. His passion and enthusiasm for the business has seen it evolve into a world-class ecotourism experience, which has won numerous awards and accolades for his conservation, sustainability efforts and business excellence.In May 2011, Robert launched his own foundation, the Pennicott Foundation which allows his business to directly contribute to its own nature conservation and humanitarian projects, such as Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign.
www.pennicottjourneys.com.au
Kate Saunders
Marketing and Communications Manager
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