Naked pair plan to row across the Atlantic Ocean

27 year old Rich Hume and his friend 30 year old Tom Barnes are currently preparing to take part in The Atlantic Rowing Race from the Canary Islands to Antigua a distance of a staggering 2,800 miles in a little rowing boat. The crossing is likely to take around two months, most of this time the pair intend to be stark bollock naked to prevent chafing.

The race is organised by Woodvale Events Ltd, it began in 1997 and has been held about every two years since. Between 15 and 20 teams will be entering the race, in 2005 TV star Ben Fogle and team mate James Cracknell set the record for the event by finishing the crossing in just 49 days, 19 hours and 8 minutes. Quite an achievement. The set distance is actually 2,876 statute miles but with weather and currents taken into account it is likely to be considerably further.

The boat that Tom and Rich will be using is just 23 feet long and 6 feet wide. The team has to be totally self sufficient, that means that once they embark on their journey they can’t receive any further food or emergency supplies from anyone else or they will face disqualification. The facilities on the boat are obviously minimal, there’s no toilet you just crap over the side.

Tom and Rich met at the University of Gloucestershire where Tom was the Students’ Union Sports President and Rich was Rugby League Club Captain. Both blokes are keen sportsmen and have competed in numerous triathlons and Iron Man events. What makes things all that more remarkable is that Rich was told by doctors back in 1996 that he would be unable to play sport ever again due to a severe curvature of the spine. Since then Rich has proved those doctors wrong again and again.

The pair are hoping to raise £100,000 for a charity which funds medical research into causes and treatments for a rare neurological condition called ataxia. To find out more about the event, and to sponsor Tom and Rich go to their site: Rowing the Atlantic. The event begins in November and they’ve a way to go yet.

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