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Home About the Event Press Articles 2005 World Record Entry Forms Venue and Route The Teams Training Multimedia Support Services Schedule Sponsors Charity Donate Friends of the Challenge Contact	Round Britain rowers back on course 29 June 2005 FOUR rowers attempting a world record for rowing non-stop 2,000 miles around the British mainland were back on course today (Weds) after a ‘disastrous’ day yesterday. The GB Row Challenge team who have rowed more than 1,500 miles in 22 days – were forced to anchor off Hartlepool for eight hours after a 25-knot headwind started to blow them BACKWARDS. 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. But yesterday was the first time the crew had been sent backwards during their three weeks at sea. Skipper Will de Laszlo explained: “Tuesday was disastrous. After beautiful, calm weather in the morning, at about noon the wind suddenly got up from the south blowing at 25 knots. The wind combined with the tide to send us backwards for the first time since we left London three weeks ago. “We decided to drop anchor and wait for the wind to die down. At around 8pm on Tuesday we set off again and as the sun set, the wind dropped to around 10 knots, which was manageable.” Early morning (Weds) the crew were off the historic fishing port of Whitby, home of Captain Cook, and were still on course to finish at London’s Tower Bridge next Monday (July 4). 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 Will Turnage – hope to raise £1million for charity. They are supporting 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. The team – Lt de Laszlo, 26, Lt Ben Jesty, 25, both from London, Sgt James Bastin, 35, from Dursely, Gloucestershire and Will Turnage, 25, from Lymington, Hants, – are rowing in pairs in three hour shifts 24-hours a day. Their position is being up-dated very few hours on the expedition website, click here so anyone wanting to follow them can see there they are. If you have a boat on the North East coast, why not go out and cheer them on. 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