MEET THE CHAMP … South African free-diving champion and ocean conservationist, Hanli Prinsloo, was the acclaimed guest speaker at the Sustainable Seas Trust and South African Maritime Safety Authority’s SEA Pledge Saldanha to Sodwana Tour function held at Misty Waves Hotel in Hermanus.                                                                  Photographer: Desiree Schirlinger

 

Hanli Prinsloo: ‘The ocean is your garden’

“When the sperm whales surfaced from hunting, great big chunks of leftover giant squid floated up with them, in the same way that we drop bread crumbs off the table,” said South African ocean conservation champion, Hanli Prinsloo, “With whales, you’re welcome to share their space, but only on their terms.”

A renowned public speaker and South African free-diving champion, Prinsloo is an honorary member of the Grahamstown based charity, the Sustainable Seas Trust (SST) and supports their mandate which has similar objectives to her I Am Water Ocean Conservation Trust.

The SST along with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) are currently on the SAMSA SEA Pledge Saldanha to Sodwana Tour. For four weeks the team will be touring South Africa’s coastline and spreading the word of coastal conservation to everyone from young school children to the various mayors and dignitaries along the way. For the Western Cape part of the tour, SST and I Am Water have worked together in spreading the word of coastal conservation.

SST was privileged to have Prinsloo as guest speaker at the Hermanus stop of the tour. “The ocean is your garden,” explained Prinsloo to the gathered crowd at Misty Waves Hotel on Sunday, “Once you have experienced it, you’ll love it, and then you’ll want to protect it.”

Prinsloo has come far from her 19 year old self who learnt how to free dive wearing an ill-fitting wetsuit in a freezing cold fjord in Sweden. Having held the South African free diving record 11 times, she has travelled the world as a film-maker, motivational speaker, conservationist and champion for our oceans. “It’s strange that the world is called planet earth when it should be called planet ocean,” said Prinsloo, “The ocean is the main reason for life everywhere, yet we have succeeded in making that big blue vulnerable.”

Mayor Botha-Guthrie of the Overstrand Region was a special guest at Hanli’s talk, “I first encountered the Sustainable Seas Trust in 2011 and have always supported their programme of hope,” said the Mayor, “The environment is the most important thing for us to look after, as then it will look after us.”

South Africans everywhere are invited to join the SST and SAMSA on the coastal tour, to make their SEA Pledge and set their own personal goals of how they will contribute to securing the healthy future of our oceans.