Englishman Jim Shekhdar plans to launch his bid to row solo to South Africa from Bluff, at the bottom of the South Island, in just over six months.
The 57-year-old hopes to be the first to complete the 21,000km journey crossing from New Zealand to Cape Town, via Cape Horn, expectedto take up to a year.
He visited Southland last week to meet harbour officials, Sport Southland and potential backers.
The civil engineer is no stranger to long-distance rowing challenges.
He competed in the transatlantic rowing race in 1997 in which New Zealanders Rob Hamill and the late Phil Stubbs set a record for the crossing.
He has also completed a solo crossing of the Pacific from Peru to Australia.
"I've done the Atlantic and the Pacific and this is the ultimate one, after this I can retire," he said.
After two years of planning, the father of two plans to launch his vessel into Bluff Harbour on August 30. His project started with a budget of about $1.5 million, but has since been downscaled. However, he still needs financial backing.
Shekhdar's rowing boat, which he designed himself, has features to combat extreme weather.
