Braam Malherbe, Wayne Robertson halfway through Out of Sight Out of Mind Expedition

Braam Malherbe – extreme adventurer, international motivational speaker and conservationist – together with rowing partner Wayne Robertson, are rowing on the vessel Mhondoro from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro, launching the DOT (Do One Thing) Challenge.

Their Out of Sight Out of Mind Expedition, began on Tuesday, 7 February and will cover a distance of 6 700km. They've just reached the half way mark on their feat of rowing to Rio.

The expedition has been undertaken to highlight the importance of sustainable living and to inspire the international community to Do One Thing (#DOTChallenge) for the planet in an effort to ensure a sustainable future.

“It's official. We are both geographically and in distance over the half way mark. At least our 'best case' scenario says so. If winds turn or storms hit; and para anchor needs to be deployed, this could change entirely, but we hope to reach Rio in 32 days time,” says Malherbe on his regular blog on his Facebook page.

Most of the trip so far they had very little sun, which means the solar panel doesn't always charge the batteries effectively. They need to manage the power daily and making water is their top priority beside all the other electronic devices on the boat.

For Malherbe, who is no stranger to world-first expeditions, this row will be the first he has attempted on the ocean. All his expeditions have been driven by a purpose and he believes that when you have a purpose behind the ego, nothing is impossible.

Robertson, who joined the expedition only a week before departure, has crossed the oceans many times as a yachtsman and master skipper, but this is his first time rowing and doing this atlantic crossing as an extreme adventurer.

“In my motivational talk I always say that if you have a purpose beyond your pain or ego, you can go so much further and do so much more. In this journey each day there is pain, physical pain. Each day there is mental stress, and the fatigue of little or sometimes no sleep, brings with it occasional doubt, as thoughts, no longer controlled, drift in and out like the clouds and rain squalls. But that is when I find a dedication to pull me through,” says Malherbe.

Malherbe founded the DOT Foundation to support projects that provide education and assistance in one of the four categories - water, waste, energy and conservation, and started the DOT Challenge campaign to highlight the importance of doing one thing for the planet on a daily basis.

If you would like to support the DOT Foundation, click here. You can also track Malherbe and Robertson live via the DOT Challenge app.

For more information, visit www.dotchallenge.org. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.