THE WORLD'S TOUGHEST ROWING RACE
Grandads of the Atlantic are doing this as part of the 2018 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, described as ‘the world’s toughest row’.
The 2018 event will see approximately 30 teams take on the colossal challenge of racing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, using nothing but oars and sheer determination...
The teams are unassisted. They will take enough food to survive at least 70 days at sea and will need to navigate the route and manage any repairs (including underwater) on their own.
Our grandads don’t expect to win the race (most people that attempt this are half their age), but they’ll give it a damn good try...!
FOLLOWING IN PARATROOPER FOOTSTEPS
In 1966, Sergeant Chay Blyth and Captain John Ridgway were serving soldiers in the Parachute Regiment when they became the first people to row across the Atlantic Ocean west to east from Cape Cod to the Arran Islands.
They did it in an open 20-foot dory named ‘English Rose III’ and faced a 92-day battle against hurricanes, 50-foot waves and near starvation.
It takes a certain kind of person to keep going when faced with blisters, salt rash, sharks and sleep deprivation. Let’s hope that that hard-earned Parachute Regiment ‘mettle’ serves our Grandads as well as it served Chay and John.
