Rosalind West, a physio for NHS Exeter, has this morning embarked on a challenge to row across the Atlantic as part of a four-woman team called Row for the Ocean.
The Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge began at La Gomera in the Canary Islands and will end 3,000 miles away in the Caribbean island of Antigua.
‘We are aiming to get two world records, one of which is the fastest female crew to cross the Atlantic,’ she told Frontline.
‘As an all-female team, we are also hoping to act as good role models to encourage girls and women to get fit and active from a young age.’
The team are also fundraising for environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) to raise awareness of the hazards of plastic waste in the ocean.
‘We are a team from Devon and Exeter and we have seen the first-hand effects of plastic in the water,’ Ms West said on the SAS website earlier this month.
‘It is just awful to see, so it was natural to choose a charity focused on ocean plastics.’
Ms West is skipper of their boat Liberty, in charge of navigation and communications.
She is most looking forward to ‘the simple life, away from technology, phones and work’, she told SAS. The daily routine will be ‘eat, sleep, row, repeat.
‘We will be rowing two hours on, two hours off, 24 hours a day. When we are not rowing, we will be eating, drinking, washing, doing boat maintenance and sleeping as much as possible.’
Frontline hopes to speak to Ms West when she arrives in Antigua.
Track her progress with team Row for the Ocean:
https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com
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