Pascal Rösler: Arrived at the Black Sea after 2,500 kilometres

After 2,500 kilometres and 63 days stand-up paddler Pascal Rösler has reached his destination at the mouth of the Danube on the Black Sea. After almost 360 hours on the stand-up paddle (SUP), the counter shows a total of almost 600,000 paddle strokes at the end: "Every paddle stroke has brought me closer to the Black Sea and with the last paddle stroke, this journey has come to an end.

It was an intense encounterwith nature and I learnt a lot about myself. Ultimately, it was a wonderful experience and we can be very satisfied with the donations of more than 10,000 euros collected so far," explained Pascal Rösler after arriving in Sulina in Romania. The donations will be used to support the organisation Pure Water for Generations e.V. ( https://pure-water-for-generations.com/ ) support projects to protect water and rivers.

On average, Pascal Rösler was between six and eight hours a day on the SUP board. "Some people go to work in the morning, I just paddle," he says. At times, he didn't see anyone on the river or on the banks for dozens of kilometres of the Danube. His only companions during this time were seagulls, herons, cormorants and pelicans. On the route between Munich and the Black Sea, Pascal Rösler also met many new supporters and friends who will help him with his nature conservation projects in the future.

"I have met many people who share my goals and want to stand up for the preservation of clean water. I was surprised at how positive the response to our campaign was," continues Pascal Rösler. People kept offering him help along the route - whether it was fresh water, accommodation or a good meal. It was an interesting experience that the willingness to help was always particularly great when the people themselves lived in humble circumstances. Hands and feet, the campaign website in nine languages and the campaign beer mat helped with communication.

On his tour, Pascal Rösler experiencedthe Isar and the Danube were enclosed in an artificial riverbed and built up with weirs. However, there were also passages where the rivers could flow freely or had been renaturalised. Whenever the rivers were able to flow freely, Pascal felt the purity and power of the water.

This also gave him strength for 2,500 kilometresand inspires him to help restore as many river areas as possible to this state in the future. Pascal Rösler gained a lot of experience about the state of nature on the Danube: "It's an anachronism that you're travelling on the water as an athlete and still have to carry drinking water for your own supply. Wouldn't it be a worthwhile goal to make the water in the rivers drinkable again?"

He met many people who could still remember the stories of older people when they used the Danube for drinking water. Pascal Rösler kept discovering rubbish and waste on the banks and in the river itself - especially plastic! The Pure Water for Generations e.V. association would like to tackle this problem in particular in the future. "We really still have a lot to do here. It's important to me to bring people closer to the topic of water. That was the motivation for my strenuous tour to the Black Sea," Pascal Rösler continues.

Over the next few months Numerous discussions are planned, including with the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) in Vienna and the Austrian Nature Conservation Association, in order to jointly support and develop efficient water projects.

The Pure Water teamfor Generations e.V. welcomes any support, be it in the form of ideas, networks, donations or labour. Pascal Rösler's tour may have ended with his arrival, but his time on the rivers has allowed him to reflect intensively. He will now be discussing the ideas he collected during the tour with experts and stakeholders over the coming weeks and working on solutions.

For him, water is his life's work and he has the necessary time and energy - together with the five-member Pure Water for Generations e.V. team.

The extensive tour diarywith all kinds of anecdotes and a lot of historical background is still available at sup-muenchen-schwarzesmeer.de The documentary about Pascal's journey by Very Film will be available online in several episodes over the course of the autumn.

The following partners supported Pascal Rösler on his tour:

Alexander Görbing -Klartext PR, Ameo, ARRI Media, Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, BeSeaside, Canon, Fanatic, FLSK, Garmin, Geldhauser, Gerber, Gössl, GPS Live Tracking, Jübermann Verlag, Kaja Foods, Maile, Manner, Maui Jim, McDermott, Oagwai, P&T, P3 Creation Group, Patagonia, Polarstern, Restube, Sidi-Kaouki, Sunnawind, Surftools, Thule, Transline, UFO FILMGERÄT, VERY FILM, wherever SIM, Wilfried Feder Photo.