After 12 years in yachting, chief stew Carla Annas stepped off her last boat, a 63-meter motor yacht, in March 2025. She moved back home to Cape Town, South Africa, and decided to take the rest of the year off while deciding her next steps. On December 7, 2025, she will participate in the Patagonman — a full Ironman distance race in Southern Chile consisting of a 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42km trail run in the mountains.
While challenging herself with a longer triathlon, Annas also wanted to make the journey have a deeper purpose. So she is combining her two passions of endurance racing and education to fundraise for the Beehive Bursary Fund, which helps children attend The Honeybush Collective primary school in Somerset West, South Africa.
“The school creates a unique learning environment where children can reach their full potential. Their approach goes beyond the basics, integrating creative activities, critical thinking, and problem-solving,” she says. “With small multigrade classes, they can tailor content to each child, creating a rich and engaging learning environment where curiosity and confidence flourish.”
Although she has completed seven Ironman 70.3 distance races, the Patagonman is twice the distance, and it takes more than twice the training. It is regarded as one of the most extreme triathlons because the icy fjord they swim in can be between 8 and 12 degrees and the elements are unpredictable — anything from sun to rain to lots of wind to sometimes even snow.
Since developing a passion for triathlons a few years ago, Annas has been following the Patagonman, being drawn to Chile with its dramatic and desolate landscape, glaciers, and extreme change in climate from north to south. However, entry is based on a lottery system where only 300 people get selected each year. “I entered this year, never expecting to get in first time around, but while in the airport flying home after leaving the yacht for the last time, I received the email to say I was in,” she says. “It was perfect timing; I could use the next nine months at home to train.”
Training takes up much of her time currently — at least four hours a day, split into two sessions, with one day off — including up to 4.5km swims with three rides, three runs and two strength sessions per week.
“The run is a grueling trail marathon,” Annas says. “If I am going to push myself to my limits, I might as well do it somewhere where the backdrop is breathtaking.”
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