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 A crew of six ladies will attempt to break the record for the fastest
all-female team to row across the Atlantic, when they depart from La
Gomera in the Canaries this month.
The women, all from Britain except their American skipper, have
trained extensively for their endevour in the South West with support
from the Brixham Sea School. Row For Freedom, in aid of ECPAT UK, is a
double-world record attempt to row across the Atlantic in the fastest
time, whilst also being the first-ever team of six females to complete
such an endurance challenge.
Departing on their epic journey in
December 2011, the team comprises Julia Immonen, Debbie Beadle, Katie
Pattison-Hart, Kate Richardson, Andrea Quigley and Helen Leigh. The
girls are charity workers, models and athletes, hailing from Britain and
the US, and have each been inspired to harness the positive power of
sport to raise awareness and much needed funding for projects to tackle
human trafficking.
The team have been preparing for the five week
race in Canary Islands since mid-November, where they have been
undertaking sea trials and packing the boat full of the provisions and
stores they will need to keep their bodies fed and hydrated. The
world-record must be for an ‘unaided’ crossing, which means they will
not see any support vessels or receive any help during the record
attempt.
The 'Row For Freedom' team will be competing to become
the first female crew to successfully row 3,000 miles from the Canary
isles to Barbados in the fastest time. They must try and avoid major
storms as the boat has barely enough room for three people to rest.
During severe storms the girls have to take cover in the minute cabin
which is not even long enough to lie down in. Some of the girls have
secretly opted to be lashed to the deck during storms rather than endure
the sardine-can effect of squeezing themselves into a water-proof
cabin.
The double world-record attempt, which is part of the
Woodvale Challenge, is recognised as the world's toughest rowing race.
As a result the team will be rowing around the clock in all weather
conditions for 40 days and 40 nights on a boat. Row for Freedom aims to
raise £1m for ECPAT UK, a charity which spearheads the attempt to end
Child Prostitution and Slavery.
Julia Immonen comments: “We are
all incredibly driven to secure this world record whilst raising funds
and awareness of the issue of child slavery across the world.”
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