GB Row Challenge - Guinness Book of World Records


51 days 16 hours 42 minutes New World Record set on 23 July in Virgin GB Row 2010

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Round Britain rowers back in English waters
27 June 2005

FOUR intrepid rowers attempting a world record for rowing non-stop 2,000 miles around the British mainland reached the Northumberland coast today, crossing over the border from Scotland in the early hours of the morning.(Monday June 27) The GB Row Challenge team who have rowed almost 1,500 miles in 20 days – that’s a staggering half a million oar strokes – passed Holy Island early this morning and are expected to be off the mouth of the Tyne this afternoon.

During their epic voyage, the crew have survived Force Eight gales and 50 foot-high waves, whirlpools, rip-tides and even a water shortage caused by a lack of sunshine to power solar panels onboard their tiny 23-feet-long boat, named Outward Bound.

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.

As well as setting a new world record, the crew - Grenadier guardsmen Lt William de Laszlo, Lt Ben Jesty, Sgt James Bastin and company director WillTurnage – hope to raise £1million for charity their two chosen charities, The Outward Bound Trust and the Bud Flanagan Fund for leukaemia research.

Amazingly, Sgt Jim Bastin had never rowed a boat before until he volunteered to join the crew on the last great challenge in the UK.

Skipper Will de Laszlo, 26, from London, said: “It’s a great morale booster to know we’ve crossed the border and are now off the North East. For the first time in nearly two weeks, the sun came out and we could see beautiful houses on the shore. We only have about 400 miles left to row to the finish in London.”

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