Richard Stubbs
Richard Stubbs is an avid sailor with lots of racing and lots of cruising under his belt, both in Zimbabwe and internationally. Other interests include hiking with the Mountain Club of Zimbabwe, travel and photography. When he’s not sailing or hiking, Richard is a farmer growing tobacco and horticultural crops.
Richard will skipper the Magic Carpet, one of the sailing catamarans in the support fleet and is excited at the prospect of sailing from Milibizi to Kariba, a favourite cruising area full of wild scenery, flora and fauna. Richard will also be in charge of trying to teach Eric how to tie a reef knot but does not hold out much hope for success.
Ryan Moss
Ryan Moss is a veteran of the Old Legs Cape Town Tour, the Kilimanjaro Tour, and the South African edition of the Lockdown Tour. Ryan is an adventurer at heart, with dreams as big as Africa. On the 1st of March 2023, after the Crocodile Tour and after the Skeleton Coast Tour, Ryan intends to Run Africa, a record-breaking 3400 kilometre run around the borders of Zimbabwe, more than a marathon a day braving lions, elephants, and tsetse flies through Gonarezhou, through the Zambezi Valley.
When he’s not shooting for the moon, Ryan is a photographer and videographer and runs Rebel Media a social media and brand management company. Ryan wears many, many hats on Tour – trouble shooter, camp finder, accommodation negotiator, and load master. He is also in charge of breaking ankles and dressing badly to impress the ladies.
Billy Prentice
Joining us on the Crocodile Tour all the way from San Diego, California will be Billy Prentice. Billy graduated from Allan Wilson in 1975 and served for 4 years in BSAP Support Unit. He emigrated to the USA in 1986 and joined the Los Angeles County Fire Department as a firefighter and paramedic, Zimbabwe’s loss, the USA’s gain. Billy went onto graduate from the University of Southern California as a Physician Assistant (BSc). Billy lives and works in Los Angeles as a Physician Assistant in urgent Care, He is married to Holly and is proud father of twin 16-year-old daughters Audrey and Gigi.
Billy is a veteran of the 2021 Old Legs Silverback Tour to Uganda. Billy had to purpose buy a bike for that Tour having not ridden in years, but you would never have guessed. Billy was easily one of the strongest riders in the peloton. And he fell in love with Africa again on our 3000 kilometre 4 week adventure.
Billy will paddle the Crocodile Tour in the HMS Omicron – a Tsunami 145 by Wilderness Systems, which has been described as the Swiss Army knife of touring kayaks. Billy will auction off his kayak after the Tour with the proceeds going to charity. We are hugely happy to have Billy join us for another Old Legs adventure. He epitomises the mantra “Have Fun. Do Good and Do Epic. And his continued participation has further allowed us to extend our fund-raising footprint into the USA And should any of our kayaks burst into flames, as a retired fireman Billy is qualified to deal with them. And being an Allan Wilson old boy, he can supervise any repairs and maintenance undertaken by our Ellis Robins old boys.
Mark Johnson
Born in London in 1960, Mark Johnson is a true-blue Cockney out of Zimbabwe, now living in Australia. Mark spent a short time at Ellis Robins studying wine, women and bad music before headmaster Mike Whiley loosed him on the world by expelling him aged 15, for excesses. Mark went on to complete his studies at the University of Life and hasn’t looked back. In a best mover ever, Mark opened Topshaft Engineering in 1990.
Mark loves keeping fit and can often be found in the gym, or on a bike, or in the pool. Pools came later in life. Mark only learned to swim aged 34 when he signed up for his first triathlon. He is also a keen golfer. Mark is also an adventure junkie. He paddled the length of Kariba in 1992 and is a veteran of the Old Legs Kilimanjaro Tour, He loves football and supports Tottenham Hotspur despite the fact they often lose.
Mark cleverly married Sue and raised Bradley and Holly in Zimbabwe, before leaving for greener pastures in 2004. Alas. Australia’s gain, Zimbabwe’s loss. He now boasts 3 grandchildren who complete his life.
Mark was easily persuaded to sign up for both the Old Legs Crocodile Tour in May 2022, and the Skeleton Coast Tour in July. Having fun, doing good and doing epic is in his genetic makeup. Mark paddles a red Wilderness Systems Tsunami 140 kayak. and rides a yellow and blue Trek X Calibre 9.
Andrew Louw Evans
Andrew Louw Evans was born in Zimbabwe in 1967 and excelled at school, and at sports, notably rugby, and cricket, and rowing in his later years. He is hopeless on a bicycle though, Andy operated his own construction company in Zimbabwe and the region successfully until stupid politics intervened; rendering trading profitably forcing Andy to shut up shop. Andy turned his hand to Project Management roles within construction industry in Zambia, Mauritania and Panama.
Andy is craftsman and a perfectionist and loves nothing more than working with his hands. Over the last 5 years, he has developed a vision to recreate an 18th Century Tall Ship, using authentic materials and methods true to the period, hand-crafted in a virtual museum that will be purpose built in Abu Dhabi. And once his Tall Ship is built and, on the water; Andy intends to use the vessel as a training ship for youngsters, teaching them technical and leadership skills, team spirit and discipline. But for Covid, Andy’s vision would be work in progress. Andy has embraced the Old Legs mantra of have fun, do good, and do epic and has signed on to paddle the Crocodile Tour, despite having never paddled before, And taking epic to next level; Andy will paddle Kariba in a hand-crafted plywood kayak, made with love.
Andrew Chadwick
Andrew Chadwick was born in 1967. He started sailing at the young age of 5 and hopes to fully understand how yachts and wind works by the end of the Crocodile Tour.
Always a slow learner, Andrew says he spent more years at Vainona High than most other students, before eventually muddling his way to a job as a television news producer for an international news channel, and then later as a political economist. Looking to do a more honest day’s work, Andrew opened a solar power company aptly named Total Solar. Whilst at Vainona, Andrew learned how to spell self-deprecating.
Andrew owns a splendid Niner mountain bike and mostly uses it as a clotheshorse. Because he has willpower, Andrew’s Niner remains in almost showroom condition. But because he is now firmly on the Old Legs radar, that is very likely to change going forward.
Andrew will be skippering the classic Wharram-designed sailing catamaran, Halcyom built in a garden in Harare in 1984, Halcyon has sailed Kariba ever since, providing much and much adventure. The Crocodile Tour will be one of her best adventures yet.
Wayne Moss
If you are fond of your food, Jenny de Jong could be the most important person on any Old Legs Tour. Famously, and with scant regard for his portion sizes on Tour, Wayne Moss cannonballed Jenny off his catamaran and into the depths of Lake Chivero on her first ever encounter with a yacht.
Wayne might be 47 but the mischief in his eye is still teenaged. He is married to Rianna and is the proud father of Aiden, Mayah and Taylor.
Wayne is in the food processing business, and busier than most, but always makes time to enjoy the outdoors with his young family, camping, sailing and adventuring, Wayne loves paddling white water, mountain biking, marathons, and triathlons.
With all that exercise, not surprisingly Wayne also loves second helpings of dinner, but he should’ve thought of that before cannonballing Jenny off his yacht.
Dave Fortescue
Newly pressganged Old Legs sailor Dave Fortescue is very excited to be a part of the Crocodile Tour.
He writes, “I was born in Chinhoyi in 1967. After passing my ‘O Levels, I did an apprenticeship as an electrician and ran my own electrical business for exactly 2 years and 10 months before being called to the IJSA to attend Bible College for 4 years- I came home in 2004 and worked at an orphanage for 2 years before starting a Christian Ministry called ‘Redeem A Nation Ministries’ in Doma and Mhangura. I’m still doing that as we speak.
I played rugby for Midlands 1-121 once and captained the Ellis Robins A cross country team – I love sailing and the wild outdoors and once had a hippo spit all over my legs and survived! I love people!’
Dave will skipper one of the support catamaran yachts and is excited to sail the western half of Lake Kariba for the first tune. On top of worrying about tracking window direction, scurvy, and how to tie reef knots, Dave now has to also find time to worry about errant paddlers who clearly do not know their arses from their elbows, or west from east.
Worryingly, Dave brings to four the number of ex-Ellis Robins boys on Tour. But thankfully we will have Vivo Allan Wilson alumni to balance and to supervise.
John And Cathy Stanton
Every year to broaden our fundraising and awareness footprint, we like to invite foreign participants on Tour. Please be introduced to John and Cathy Stanton, novice sailors and deckhands specially imported for the Crocodile Tour from Johannesburg, South Africa.
Aged 59, Cathy Stanton has signed on as deckhand on board the Sanyatj and will be in charge of providing delicious meals. Born in Harare Cathy farmed in Bindura and now lives in Johannesburg where she runs a purchasing business. A mother of 6 and grandmother to 4, Cathy is up to the challenge of feeding 16 hungry paddlers and sailors on Kariba.
One of the hungry sailors under her command is her husband, John. John will be in charge of tying reef knots, sheepshanks and granny knots. John will also man the Crow’s Nest and will be in charge of shouting at paddlers either Paddle faster’ or ‘Beware of crocodiles and hippos to your port and/or starboard sides’. Because John went to Ellis Robins, we will have to label his hands port or starboard. And also because he went to Ellis Robins, the crocodiles need to beware of flick knives and ending up as counterfeit handbags.