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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 run aground - 40 miles from finish line July 3 2005 FOUR intrepid rowers - on course to set a world record by becoming the first people ever to row non-stop around mainland Britain – ran aground off the Essex coast today (Sunday)...just 40 miles from the finish of their epic journey. The GB Row Challenge crew were battling against a force five headwind and strong tide when they attempted a short-cut across the notorious Maplin Sands. But the gamble failed when the receding tide left them high and dry on a sandbank. They are now waiting for the tide to turn and expect to re-float at about seven o’clock tonight (Sunday) and still make the finish line at Tower Bridge tomorrow morning (Monday – expected about 10am). When they reach Tower Bridge the crew will set a new Guinness World Record of just 26 days to row 2,000 around Britain in their tiny23-feet-long boat, Outward Bound. Despite being hit by force eight winds and fifty foot seas in the Irish Sea, being capsized by a freak wave off Scarborough earlier this week andgrounding on a sand bank, they have still managed to row an incredible 70 miles DAY. 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. Will de Laszlo said: “We were constantly fighting against a force five wind and an adverse tide slowed us down terribly. We decided to head into calmer water closer to the shore to make headway. We knew sandbanks were there but it was gamble we had to take. “We were getting along a lot faster but unfortunately the ebb tide receded faster that we’d hoped and we were left on a sand bank at just before three in the afternoon. The tide will lift us again at seven and we’ ll be on our way to the finish line at Tower Bridge. We'll use the time to have a rest and tidy up the boat for our homecoming." 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 harderthan 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