Disappointment for Shropshire rowers as start of Transatlantic race delayed by gale-force winds
Best laid plans were put to the test when three plucky women - including two from Shropshire, who planned to set off on a 3,000-mile challenge to cross the Atlantic in a rowing boat, were forced to sit tight today due to high winds at the start line.
Competitors in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge were due to set off from San Sebastian de La Gomera in the Canary Islands in the early hours of this morning.
But gale force winds put a halt to the race and competitors were informed about two hours before they were due to leave port.
Briefing the crews, race director Carsten Horen Olsen said another decision would be made on Wednesday morning.
Among the 25 crews taking part in the marathon race is one comprising of retired NHS worker Dianne Carrington from Pontesbury, Shrewsbury midwife Sharon Magrath and lawyer Elaine Theaker from Abergavenny. The team is now a trio after a fourth member Deborah Bass from Shawbury withdrew.
Duty officer Ian Couch said winds of up to 40 knots on leaving the harbour would be a “baptism of fire” that would potentially put some crews in danger.
He said: “You know full well we don’t mind putting you out there if it’s going to be scary, or it’s going to be bumpy, or it’s going to be tough.
“But there has to be a line drawn between that and foolhardy."
Di, Sharon and Elaine are looking to break world records as the oldest team to row the Atlantic Ocean in their specially-built £50,000 boat named Poppy.
The trio are raising money for raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society, Motor Neurone Disease Association and Relapsing Polychondritis UK.
The group did not know each other before joining together to form a team to take on the challenge, but have been brought together by the spirit of adventure.
Di said: “We didn’t know each other before we decided to do this.
“Elaine was looking for a team to take part and I was looking for a team, ideally all over 60.
“We met at a seminar and we gelled so we decided to team up because we were both struggling to find people. In the meantime, I was speaking to people at my gym to try and encourage them to take part. That was where I met Sharon who was really excited about the idea.”
During the row, the group is hoping to break three world records as Dianne will be the oldest woman to row across the Atlantic – the current record being 57 – as she will be 61 when she takes on the challenge.
They also believe they are the oldest threesome of ladies and the only crew of women of any age to row any ocean, as well as being the oldest of any gender, the current record being held by a group of men with a combined age of 201.
Di, Sharon, 54 and Elaine, 54 have been hard in training for the past year in preparation for their marathon trip.
Di said: “I need a challenge to prove myself. In 1977 I was in the British white water canoe slalom team just as my career began. I loved sea canoeing and canoed across expanses of sea in UK. I sailed across the Irish Sea and also from Turkey to Malta.
“Two close members of my family have been diagnosed with cancer and a close friend has a rare life limiting condition.
“I am doing this for my friend’s new charity and to prove I can achieve something in the face of adversity, making me stronger to care for those I love.
”I want to show other women of my age that we are able to do things beyond our apparent limit. I have recovered from anxiety and depression and this journey will reinforce my new life skills and give me strength to be a more useful person in society.”
The three will join rowers from all over the world to cross about 3,000 miles/5,000km of the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean island of Antigua. This is the worlds toughest race. They will face storms, adverse weather conditions, hunger and sleep deprivation and it will be the challenge of their lives.
Di said: “We will be rowing two hours on, two hours off, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs, 24 hours a day from the very start until we reach the finish in Antigua.”
Crews will not leave before Wednesday morning, although race organisers have warned the start could be delayed further. The 2013 Atlantic Challenge was postponed by two days, while the 2015 race was delayed by four days due to poor weather.
Inspired by Chay Blythe,The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge is the world’s No 1 Ocean Endurance Race and is organised by atlanticcampaigns.com
