FOUR Lyme Regis men will take on the world’s toughest rowing challenge when they compete in a race across the Atlantic.
Chris Walters, Brian Fletcher, Tony Shore and Elliot Dale will compete in the Woodvale Challenge 2011 Atlantic Challenge race, fulfilling lifetime ambitions and raising money for charity in the process.
The team, known as the Corinthians, will row from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean in their boat, to be named Spirit Of Corinth.
Starting in December 2011, they will row 24 hours a day, rotating two hours on and two hours off, covering 2,500 nautical miles over 40 to 55 days.
The four men are all members of Lyme Regis Gig Club and they are currently training on the club’s pilot gig Revenge, until they take delivery of their own boat and equipment, which will cost them around £50,000. The entire challenge will cost up to £80,000 and the Corinthians are looking for sponsorship and donations.
But they will share half of any funds raised between two charities – ShelterBox and the British Heart Foundation.
The team said: “As a team we not only desire to achieve our own ambitions but also wish to support those less fortunate than us in the process.”
ShelterBox was chosen because it is a charity based in the South West which has global impact and is a cause the men say they admire.
And bearing in mind the average age of the team will be well over 50 years, the team are keen to promote the principle of ‘keeping fit and you can do whatever you desire’ by supporting the British Heart Foundation.
The men say they have accepted this ultimate rowing challenge in a bid to challenge themselves and their personal boundaries.
Chris, who is a keen rugby player and long distance cyclist and runner, said: “One of my lifetime ambitions has been to row the Atlantic – that opportunity is now. The challenge awaits.”
For more information and to make donations, contact the Corinthian Team administrator Andrew Pocock at spiritof corinth@btinternet.com, or send donations to him at Dovecote, Whalley Lane, Uplyme, Lyme Regis, DT7 3UP, making cheques payable to Atlantic Challenge 2011.
More information about the team and their challenge is available at www.spiritof corinth.co.uk
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