Terror threat ends UK-NZ jetski attempt

Team leader Jeremy Burfoot. Photo / Supplied

The threat of terrorism and piracy has put a stop to a New Zealand-based bid to jetski from London to Auckland to raise funds for cancer research.

The group of three New Zealanders and one Croatian had made it as far as the south coast of Turkey, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade warned them not to travel south of Egypt.

"The risk of terrorist and piracy attacks in Yemen has risen to an unacceptable level and we would be a prime target," team leader Jeremy Burfoot said.

"We all have families and it would be unfair to put their futures at risk, even with such a good cause."

The team had already encountered its fair share of problems.

Their jetskis were stolen and later recovered by Bulgarian police just 10 days into the trip, while mechanical issues kept cropping up.

"We found that we were continually losing time for maintenance and struggling to get spare parts in out-of-the-way places," Mr Burfoot said.

The team had aimed to break the world long-distance jetski record with a ride of almost 32,000km.

They set out from London on August 1 and made it as far as Fenike, on the south coast of Turkey.

They are currently in Rhodes, Greece, and plan to ride north to Croatia to return their jetskis, by which time they will have covered some 8000km.

- NZPA