The UK’s Prince William kicked off his final day in South Africa, Thursday November 7, with a visit to Simon’s Town and Kalk Bay Harbour.
It was his second trip to the far south during his four-day-stay in Cape Town. The first was on Monday November 4 when he visited Ocean View High School to review the impact of projects by The Atlas Foundation South Africa (“Prince William pops in at Ocean View High,” Echo, November 5).
At Simon’s Town Harbour, he was welcomed by NSRI CEO Mike Vonk and given a short tour of the base before meeting NSRI rescue crew volunteers at the Simon’s Town Patti Price Sea Rescue Station 10. He talked to them about mental health support for first responders.
NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said Prince William was then transported to Kalk Bay Harbour aboard the NSRI’s 15-metre offshore rescue craft, Donna Nicholas, accompanied by the rescue vessel Rescue 10 Alpha Jack & Irene.
The visit formed part of the prince’s itinerary during his stay in Cape Town for the fourth annual Earthshot Prize Awards, held on Wednesday November 6, at a purpose-built venue in Green Point.
The awards celebrated innovative contributions to environmentalism from around the world, with five winners – two from Africa – each receiving £1 million (about R23 million) to help scale their transformative environmental solutions.
In Kalk Bay, the prince enjoyed a traditional fish braai and met with Abalobi, an Earthshot finalist, as well as members of the fishing community and the public who had gathered to see him.
Abalobi is a non-profit public benefit organisation dedicated to developing thriving, equitable, resilient, and sustainable small-scale fishing communities around the world.
Mr Lambinon said that during the voyage from Simon’s Town to Kalk Bay, the prince had experienced the power of Cape Town’s gale-force south-easterly winds first-hand.
Mr Lambinon said Prince William’s deep connection to rescue operations had been evident during his visit to the NSRI.
With extensive experience himself as a search and rescue helicopter pilot for the Royal Air Force and later as an air ambulance pilot, Prince William has undertaken 156 search and rescue operations, contributing to saving 149 lives.
Mr Vonk said: “Given the prince’s background in search and rescue, he appeared naturally interested in our rescue operations. He was eager to meet our volunteers and understand both what they do and why they choose to volunteer,”
He added that Prince William had shown particular interest in the NSRI SafeTrx app and the preventive safety measures it has for water users.
“His Royal Highness has a ‘learn to swim’ programme as part of his foundation, and he was very keen to learn about our survival swimming programme and water safety education,” Mr Vonk said.
