26 days 21 hours 14 minutes - New World Record

Latest News About GB Challenge Press Articles Launch Day The Route The Team The Boat Training HMS Illustrious Schedule Charities Donate Friends of the Challenge Sponsors Contact	Countdown to the finish - 10am Monday, Tower Bridge Come along and cheer them home! FOUR intrepid rowers on course to set a world record by becoming the first people ever to row non-stop around mainland Britain were battling strong headwinds off the Essex coast. We are now in the final countdown to the finish. Despite being forced to anchor twice during the night because of strong tides and winds, the GB Row Challenge crew are still expected reach Tower Bridge at around 10 o’clock on Monday morning. When they reach Tower Bridge the crew will set a new Guinness World Record of just 26 days to travel around Britain in their tiny 23-feet-long boat, Outward Bound. Despite being hit by force eight winds and fifty foot seas in the Irish Sea and then almost being capsized by a freak wave off Scarborough earlier this week, they have managed to average over 70 miles DAY. On Saturday night they were forced to anchor for three hours just northof Clacton as the tide and wind threatened to blow them backwards. They anchored again for a couple of hours at first light. At 8 o’clock they were moving at 2knots out into the sea to avoid the area’s notorious sandbars. The team is made up if three Grenadier Guards, Lt Ben Jesty, Lt Will de Laszlo and Sgt James Bastin. Amazingly, Sgt Bastin had never rowed before he joined the expedition for training in April. The fourth member of the team is company director Will Turnage, 25, from Hampshire. Non-stop circumnavigation of Great Britain in a rowing boat has never been attempted before. Because of Britain's treacherous tides and crowded shipping lanes, this is one of the most dangerous journeys ever to be made in a rowing boat. According to the Ocean Rowing Society, rowing round Britain is harder than crossing the Atlantic. It is also as far. As well as setting a new world record, the crew hope to raise £1million for charity. They are supporting The Outward Bound Trust and the Bud Flanagan Fund for leukaemia research. You can also make a donation to their two chosen charities, The Outward Bound Trust and the Bud Flanagan Fund for leukaemia research by clicking here, or call 01732 520 111 If the crew manage to complete the 2,110-mile non-stop unassisted journey they will earn a Guinness World Record. They crew are living off Army rations and took over one ton of food with them. They are only drinking cold water, provided by a desalination unit, which turns sea water into drinking water. The desalination unit is powered by solar panels. But for nearly a fortnight after passing Land’s End the skies were overcast which meant the solar units were not able to provide enough power so the crew were rationed to just one litre of water each a day. Support GB Row Challenge and help them raise £1Million for charity Every penny counts ! Click here to Donate