A team of rowers have announced that they will embark on what is considered to be the ‘Toughest Row in the World’ to raise money for Over The Wall.

On 12th December 2018, the ‘Row Row Row Our Boat’ team’ -consisting of Andy Williams from Westbourne, Nick Wright from Thorney Island, Andrew Burns from Chichester and David Cowling from Chichester, will row 3,000 miles from La Gomera to Antigua, racing 30 other teams from around the world in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

The row is famously grueling, and it is said that more people have been in space than have completed this challenge. The team is expecting storms, 40ft waves, blisters, seasickness, sunburn, sleep deprivation, open sores and severe exhaustion. The row will take between 30-40 days to complete and the team of four will mainly be surviving on freeze-dried food.

To add to the challenge, the team are attempting to break a world record by being the first rowers to also bake different types of bread whilst crossing the Atlantic. On Christmas day, they also plan to cook a traditional turkey roast dinner whilst in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

The dimensions of the boat are 28 feet long and less than 6 feet wide and the cabin area provides a space only just big enough for the team to sleep. Although, they won’t be getting a huge amount of rest! They plan to row constantly, two at a time, two hours on and two hours off, 24-hours per day.

The rowers have chosen to fundraise for two charities close to their heart, Over The Wall and Royal Surrey County Hospital Charitable Trust.

Isabel Overton, the Head of Fundraising at Over The Wall said, “We are truly honoured that Row Row Row Our Boat have chosen to raise funds for Over The Wall. The money raised throughout their journey of bravery and endurance will enable even more children to enjoy the therapeutic camps that we provide.”

Company Director and former Royal Marine, Andy Williams, is leading the journey. He explains, “We strongly believe in the power of choosing how you think, regardless of the circumstances you are experiencing. Over the Wall is a very important charity to us, as its residential camps enable children with serious health challenges to think differently about themselves and reach beyond their potential.”

If you would like to donate funds, if you are interested in corporate sponsorship- or if you would just like to know more about the team’s challenge- go to their website at www.r3ob.com