Army

Glitches can't stop Atlantic rowers

A group of British servicemen are holding their own in a gruelling challenge to row the Atlantic.

Despite encountering heavy seas and even having to carry out on-the-spot repairs after technical glitches just three days into the voyage, they were in third place by Wednesday morning- one of 17 teams that are part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. By the afternoon they had slipped back into 4th place, but just a mile behind 'Atlantic 4' in third.

The six-man team, which includes four amputees, left La Gomera in the Canary Islands on Monday (5th December) to start the 3,000-mile journey to Barbados.

Four of the team's members lost limbs during service in Iraq or Afghanistan and the attempt, named Row2Recovery, is hoped to raise £1 million for wounded soldiers.

They have already raised £601,000 and the final amount will be distributed between three military charities: Help for Heroes, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) and ABF - The Soldiers' Charity.

The journey of around 3,000 miles, hoped to take 40-50 days, will see the team spend Christmas and several of their birthdays at sea.

In an update on their website on Day Three (Wednesday) Alex Mackenzie, co-founder of Row2Recovery, said: “Our auto helm, which dramatically simplifies navigation, broke after just 24 hours and the all-important desalinator – vital for turning sea water into just about drinkable water – packed in shortly afterwards. There was plenty of cursing at first but we soon pulled ourselves together and got on with the job of fixing the kit, which we have now done.

“The seas continue to be pretty large, and we’ve got a pretty consistent force five gale following us. That’s making the boat speed increase but it’s also causing the waves to increase in size. We’re gradually mastering the art of surfing down the waves and our rowing techniques are definitely improving. I was the first to be hit by the dreaded sea sickness and Carl followed shortly afterwards. Stomachs seem to have settled now though.

“Did I mention that we’re all rowing naked? In fact, as I write this I’m huddled in a cabin with fellow nudist Carl. I guess this is what they mean by team bonding! Before you ask, yes we have got sun cream on!

“We’re managing to get some sleep, although the cabins are ridiculously cramped.

“All in all we’re loving our early experiences of ocean rowing. We know we have an enormous distance still to go but the thoughts of our fallen friends and comrades are never far from our minds. When the going gets really tough, which it definitely will, we’ll be thinking of them.”

Details on the challenge will be posted on its website on www.row2recovery.com

THE TEAM:

Lieutenant Will Dixon

Will, 27, stepped on an IED 10 days before Christmas 2009, in Sangin, Afghanistan.
He was a platoon commander with 3rd Battalion The Rifles when surgeons at Camp Bastion performed a below knee amputation on his left leg. He phoned home and explained to his parents he had “picked up a bit of an injury”.

Corporal Neil Heritage

Neil was a member of the Royal Signals bomb disposal team in Iraq when a suicide bomber detonated a device a few feet away. It was November 2004 and his wife was six weeks pregnant with the couple’s second child.
He required a double above-knee amputation and doctors initially predicted he would never walk again. Neil, 30, is now a school athletics coach and keen endurance athlete.

Corporal Rory Mackenzie

Rory was a company medic attached to the 1st Battalion Staffordshire Reg.
While on a routine patrol in Basra City in Jan 2007 he was blown up by a Road Side Bomb. The blast traumatically amputated his right leg.
After an extensive rehabilitation period he is now back at work as an instructor at Keogh Barracks, teaching fellow medics.

Lance Corporal Carl Anstey

Carl was hit by the blast from a rocket-propelled grenade in Musa Qala, Afghanistan, in January 2009 the after his 24th birthday.
Carl, now 26, was a member of 1st Battalion The Rifles. The damage from shrapnel shattered his femur and severed his sciatic nerve. Surgery left him with a right leg almost two inches shorter than the left and he needs a leg brace to walk.

Ed Janvrin - Co-Founder

Ed spent eight years in the Gurkhas, serving once in Iraq and twice in Afghanistan.
He left the army in 2008 deeply impacted by his experiences and compelled to help the men and women who had served alongside him.
Ed joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a business consultant in 2008.

Alex Mackenzie - Co-Founder

Alex served in the Parachute Regiment for six years, completing tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was Mentioned in Despatches for leadership.
He left the army in 2008 but never forgot the inspirational lessons he learnt from the troops he fought alongside.
He now works for global business performance consultancy firm McKinney Rogers.

Captain Tony Harris - co-Founder

Tony completed three tours in Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan in 2009 with The Royal Fusiliers.
Two weeks after the birth of his second child, his patrol vehicle drove over an IED in the treacherous Helmand Province. The bomb shattered both feet and an elbow. After 10 months battling infections and undergoing numerous operations, Tony had an elective below-knee amputation of his left leg. Tony now works for the Ministry of Defence.