Four big hearted brothers already raise £94,000 in potential world record 3000 mile rowing feat

By Jill Dando News

Four brothers – made up of two sets of twins – are close to setting a world first by completing an epic 3,000 mile row across the Atlantic Ocean.

FULL STORY: https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/09/four-brothers-rowing-across-the-atlantic-are-set-to-make-world-record-18063154/

Once they cross the finish line, the group will be the first four brothers to row any of the world’s great oceans.

Adventurous siblings Jack and Hamish Friend, 26, and younger brothers Euan and Arthur Friend, 24, have already raised more than £80,000 for charities since setting off on their endurance challenge nearly a month ago.

The foursome, from Tiverton, Devon, trained for the gruelling feat for 18 months ahead of their departure on December 12 from La Gomera, in the Canary Islands.

Known as the ‘world’s toughest row’, the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge is one of the most demanding endurance events on the planet.

The challenge is a 3,000-mile unsupported rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean from La Gomera to Antigua, in which they will face sleep deprivation, salt sores, and physical extremes inflicted by the race.

And they are expected to finally complete the Talisker Atlantic Challenge race and arrive at their destination, Antigua, in the next week.

Hamish, who works in property surveying, said: ‘None of us had rowed that much before.

‘It was one of those challenges that I saw on an Instagram video and thought, “Wow, that looks amazing. Let’s give it a try.”‘

The team – who dubbed themselves ‘The FriendShip’ – found themselves sponsors and a boat, and got rowing training from triple Guinness world record holding rower Duncan Roy.

Previously the longest stint they had done at sea was 50 hours – but have now managed close to a whole month out at sea.

Their 28ft boat is one that had previously completed the crossing and was being ‘recycled’ for another challenge.

The brothers rotate the rowing, each completing two hours on the oars followed by two hours resting and sleeping.

They consume around 6,000 calories a day of freeze-dried food and make their own drinking water from a solar-powered desalination unit.

They even spent Christmas and New Year on the boat – and shared one of their dad’s brandy-soaked Christmas puddings.

Along the journey, the lads have battled swollen hands, cuts and bruises – along with blazing temperatures both out and inside their cabins.

The brothers are completing the challenge in aid of three local charities – and have so far raised a whopping £82,000 for the cause.

The charities are CHAT, a vital service for those struggling with housing issues in Mid Devon; the Drive Forward Foundation, which enables children and young people with experience of foster or residential care to achieve their full potential; and Friends of Kiwoko Hospital, a charity set up to support the work of the Kiwoko Hospital in Uganda.

They said: “Our core motivation as we go through the inevitable highs and lows of this journey is the opportunity to raise money and awareness for these truly fantastic causes.

“Each of our selected charities has close personal connections to us;

“We have seen first hand the impact Drive Forward has on young care leavers through Jack’s work for the charity and through all of us looking to support their work in training as mentors

CHAT provides a vital service for those struggling with housing issues in Mid Devon, the local community in which we all grew up.
“They provide much needed first-line support and advice to keep people at risk in their accommodation or help them back into homes. CHAT also offer debt and money advice and run a foodbank

“We have all personally witnessed the incredible work that Kiwoko Hospital carry out. Kiwoko manages to stretch funds and resources to the furthest possible lengths in treating the poorest communities in the Luwero region of central Uganda

“There is no doubt in our minds that every penny raised for these fantastic charities will help make a real difference.

To see more about these charities visit https://chatmid.org/. https://driveforwardfoundation.org/ https://www.fokh.org.uk/

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