Oct
25
A 3,000 mile cruise to Antigua, West Indies from Tenerife, loads of sunshine and fresh air, sounds wonderful, but there is a catch, you have to row. That hasn´t put off Peter Raab and Tim Wilks, they leave Puerto Colon on December 8 in Martha Dos their 7.1 metre long and 1.9 metre wide row boat.
It´s a tough challenge but as well as the personal achievement, they will be raising funds for Orobal (www.orobal.org), a Los Cristianos based charity that helps mentally and physically handicapped children. The 60,000 euro cost of the adventure has been raised through sponsorship and the latest backers to come on board are Freebird excursions who are also based in Puerto Colon.
Peter, originally from Germany has been living in Tenerife for 10 years and has a good general nautical knowledge through his company, Total Marine. Tim is a late replacement and having just arrived in Tenerife from Darlington, he is frantically catching up on training and taking a series of courses to get him up to speed on sea safety and navigation. A former semi pro rugby player and keen adventurer, he is relishing the challenge.
The boat, Martha Dos, has already made the crossing back in 2001 with a Spanish crew in a time of 61 days, the record stands at 35 days, Peter and Tim will set themselves a modest target, the main think is to get across in one piece.
Huge waves, busy shipping lanes and isolation will be just some of the difficulties the pair have to face but they are fit and ready for anything. Bon voyage chaps.
For more information visit the FreeBird website and blog
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