Shrewsbury adventurer Kelda Wood’s appeal for Atlantic challenge
Dozens of shoppers showed their support for athlete Kelda Wood who has her sights set on raising more than £50,000 for her charity set up for young people.
The Shrewsbury adventurer officially unveiled her boat Storm Petrel, at GO Outdoors at Sundorne Retail Park on Saturday where she was due to be joined by rowers Di Carrington and Sharon Magrath, two of the three Atlantic Ladies who have just returned from Antigua after 60 days at sea.
Now Kelda hopes to emulate their record breaking trip as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
She will row single-handed across to inspire young adults facing mental or physical trauma who are supported by her Climbing Out charity.
The charity offers five-day outdoor activity programmes aimed at rebuilding confidence and self esteem in young people facing life-changing injury, illness or trauma, and she hopes the challenge will enable the charity to reach even more young people in the future.
On Saturday shoppers had a chance to see the tiny boat and chat to her about how she will cope with the ocean elements.
“I’ve nicknamed my boat ‘Stormy P’. So far my plan is to row to a routine of four hours on and then take 15 minutes off from sunrise to sunset.
I’ve been advised that it might be a good idea to take a break from midday to 2pm as it gets very hot at that time of the day.
“I will need a few adaptations carried out to the boat, such as the pedals. I still haven’t found out the impact of that the rowing will have on my leg so I’m having a rotating footplate to protect my ankle.
“I will be taking freeze-dried food and a survival kit which includes a life raft, life jacket, a sea survival suit, flares and a distress alert.
“It’s not just about the rowing, but I will be raising awareness of the effects of trauma on young people.
“I’ll be sharing web links each day to feature the stories of some of the young people that have benefited from Climbing Out.
“Those will be set up before I fly out to the Canary Islands at the end of November for the start of the race.”
In addition to raising £50,000 for the charity, she is still appealing for sponsors to help cover the remaining £37,000 needed to compete in the challenge after being donated the boat to reduce her costs which include £20,000 race fees and £10,000 shipping fees for Stormy P.
Sponsors will get their logos displayed on the boat for the her ‘Row To Raise’ challenge and more details are on the website www.rowtoraise.com
After competitive netball and horse riding Kelda suffered a leg injury 16 years ago when a heavy bale of hay fell on top of her.
She later became a member of the GB paracanoe squad, but missed out on the Paralympic Games in Rio.
