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Gales test resolve of Atlantic rowers

Storm force gales are proving the latest challenge to a team of six soldiers battling to row across the Atlantic.

The Row2Recovery team set off last Monday from the Canary Islands - one of 17 teams that are part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

The six-man team includes four amputees who are determined to row 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.

This morning they were back in 3rd position, with 2,165 miles to go!

They have already raised £604,535 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.

In their latest website blog – Day Five - Ed Janvrin writes: “The weather has increased significantly over the past 24 hours and we’re in the middle of a force six gale which is making the rowing conditions pretty punchy to say the least.

“There is a big swell and we’re having to work pretty hard, although the strong following wind means we are covering some significant distances.

“With both auto helms breaking within three days of leaving after getting wet (what is that all about by the way? Auto helms for rowing boats that break when they get wet…grrrr) we’re having to use the foot pedal or fixed hand steering which means we are one rower down when the conditions get really heavy.

“We had a chance meeting with Atlantic Four on Sunday which was absolutely bizarre in the middle of the ocean. We bobbed up on the crest of a wave and spotted them about 30 feet away– with their sea anchor out – hankering down against the elements. We couldn’t resist the opportunity to try and destroy their morale so we contacted them on the radio and basically abused them for five minutes about them losing ground on us! Cruel, but all’s fair in love and ocean rowing!

“On the injury front, we’re monitoring everyone really closely and making sure any problems that are emerging are dealt with. Rory had quite a nasty blister which we lanced and is now in much better shape, although his stump is getting quite sore so he’s been doing a fair bit of rowing from the fixed position used by Neil.

“All of us are suffering salt rashes on our back sides with the emergence of small red spots the tell tail sign. Thanks to our “sew to recovery” team back on La Gomera our seats are holding up well!

“We needed a major admin session yesterday because both cabins had become absolutely foul. We managed to improve the conditions on board significantly which has been a good morale boost.

“We’ve also discovered the world’s most disgusting freeze dried meal. We’re not sure what it is yet but it basically tasted like a mackerel milkshake! Alex described it as ‘gastronomic genocide.’ I agree.

“All in all we are finding it tough, but loving every minute! Thanks again to everyone who is supporting us and following our progress. We appreciate it so much. Till next time!”

Details on the challenge, including updates and blogs, are being posted on the Row2Recovery 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.