At the end of the road. Dylan Wickrama’s Pacific crossing on a GS powered raft is set to be made into a film.

At the end of the road. Dylan Wickrama’s Pacific crossing on a GS powered raft is set to be made into a film.

Dylan Wickrama

Source:BMW Motorrad

The road stops at the Darién Gap. To continue his journey from Alaska to Argentina, Dylan Wickrama builds a raft, powered by his BMW R 1150 GS, and starts his adventure in the Pacific. The Sri Lankan’s story spellbinds very many people. Now a documentary film is going to be produced – using crowdfunding.

Life sometimes invents stories that are more incredible than any Hollywood film maker could ever think up. One such life story is that of Dylan Wickrama. It is about a boy who often looked out to sea from his native Sri Lanka and passionately longed to know what lies beyond the horizon. It was unlikely that he would ever find out. Because Dylan grew up in poor circumstances. His father was killed by a burglar when Dylan was not even six years old. He had to grow up, and bear responsibility, much too fast. Years later he received the opportunity to discover the world he hitherto only knew from the journals that were passed around the village. On his BMW R1150 GS “Bruce” he travelled more than 210,000 km on four continents over a period of three years. But the real adventure begins at the Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia.

BMW R 1150 GS

DYLAN’S TALE ON THE BIG SCREEN.

IT ALL BEGINS AT THE DARIÉN GAP.

Dylan Wickrama is on the Pan-American Highway, America’s main transport artery that stretches across the entire continent from Alaska all the way to Tierra del Fuego. Between Panama and Colombia there is a famous gap known as ‘the Darién Gap’. Whoever crosses it must struggle through dense tropical jungle and flooded swampland. There are dangers lurking behind every bush. Not only wild animals, but guerilla fighters, rebels and drug smugglers since the Darién Gap is a notorious hotspot for drug trafficking.

Dylan Wickrama

Not a place where a motorcyclist travelling alone belongs. Dylan has landed in a cul de sac and is stuck. During his involuntary stay, he befriends several people and eventually finds supporters for his idea: a ‘cruise’ on the hazardous Pacific Ocean covering 700 kilometres. However, this is not sailing as Dylan understands the word. Especially since the Sri of Lankan has no sailing experience whatsoever.

Dylan Wickrama

700 KILOMETRES THROUGH ROUGH SEAS

Dylan builds together a raft from ten empty oil drums. He equips it with a sail – then Bruce comes into play. Dylan extended the shaft of the R 1150 GS and integrated the motorcycle so that it can serve as a motor for the raft. He fills 120 litres of petrol into jerrycans and takes them on board to refuel. Out in the Pacific he gets caught in strong currents that pull him deep out to sea. For days he floats aimlessly in the ocean, not knowing where he is any more and in what direction he needs to sail. Dolphins come to his rescue.
700 KILOMETRES THROUGH ROUGH SEAS
The fact that Dylan survived his journey is close to a miracle. “I trust in physics, but even more so an miracles that seem to happen when we discover the true joy of life,” says Dylan, whose full surname ‘Samarawickrama’ literally means “the one who celebrates adventure”. “Out to sea I was able to experience a unique adventure and test myself at the limit.” Dylan firmly believes that this experience in particular provides the best chance to discover something new in the world.
I can hardly believe that I did what I did. These six weeks were the hardest and, at the same time, the most beautiful of my life.
Dylan Wickrama
“I have learned to overcome my fears, to be patient and I learned more about my skills. When I look back, I can hardly believe that I did what I did. These six weeks were the hardest and, at the same time, the most beautiful of my life. We have to believe more in ourselves. We need to focus more on the good and have a positive attitude than dwell on the impossible.”
700 KILOMETRES THROUGH ROUGH SEAS

A FILMWORTHY NOTION.

It’s no wonder that film makers took an interest in Dylan’s unreal adventure. “Dylan’s story mustn’t be kept from the world”, says Markus Bauer, co-founder of the newly-founded Austrian production company LM.Media in Linz, who would like to shoot a documentary about the adventure. “This man was completely alone and on his own on the high seas. This fact alone would be enough for a good plot. But Dylan’s journey contains much more than that.”
If the film is actually shot, Dylan will return to Panama with the film crew and meet the people he encountered for the first time since completing his world tour. Pirates who helped him, police officers who turned two blind eyes to his illegal adventure, locals from the Darién jungle.
“We want to tell the countless stories there are to tell about fears, disasters and the helpfulness of strangers”, says Markus Bauer. “We want to show that a positive mental attitude is the key to success. Dylan’s belief in the goodness in people shows us that this world is not only full of negatives, as most newspaper articles would have us believe.”
A FILMWORTHY NOTION

AN ADVENTURE FILM WITH CROWDFUNDING

Dylan and Markus Bauer’s film team hope that the production of this documentary film will be supported by the global community of adventure seekers. They are convinced that crowdfunding offers the best chances for the realisation of the project. Approximately 100,000 euros would be needed to cover the production costs. The launch of the project is planned for late 2016 with filming to take place in 2017.
The book “At the End of the Road” gives you a taste of the adventure, written by Dylan together with the travel journalist Martina Zürcher, who is since his wife. The full 311-page hardcover edition has received raving reviews in adventure travel blogs and forums.

 

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