Can you row 2010 miles in 2010 in a team of 4, unaided, around the UK coastline and without touching land once? Yes? - apply now!

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	William Turnage I have spent most of my life on, in or near the sea. I was born in London although I grew up in countryside around Lymington, a sailing village in the New Forest. I went to school near Southampton where I took my A-Levels.  At school I played rugby for the 1st XV where we were Hampshire County Champions, played hockey and sailed. I come from a family with a very long history in sailing; therefore it was not surprising that I was learning to sail at the tender age of 3 and now at 26 I am about to embark on my greatest quest yet! As the navigator for GB Row Challenge it will be my experience of the sea that will help guide us round the coast of Britain. From school I took a gap year; most of which was spent sailing; from the UK to St Tropez, Malta then finally competing in the Middle Sea Race. I also did a return delivery from Port Lauderdale to Antigua on a relatively small boat which was also pretty tough at times. These were both tremendous experiences during which I learnt to navigate and sail in some pretty serious storms in the Bay of Biscay. Although I had been sailing seriously for some time, these were my first real experiences of the open sea. After completing a ski season and a further few months travelling and surfing I went to Exeter University where I obtained a BA Hons in French and German.   It was at Exeter University that I developed my passion for rowing and competed in the 1st VIII for 2 years. The pinnacle of these years came when the team got to the semi final at Henley in 2000. Unfortunately we lost to Yale. In our defence we had no coach or a decent boat and it was only our will and determination (also incessant training) that got us there. Incidentally if anyone from the Yale team of 2000 or even from the current team reads this and fancies a rematch, we will be leaving from Tower Bridge on 7th June at 2pm! I graduated in 2002 and have since been running a start up vodka company www.vodkaslingshot.com with a close friend. This has been one of the toughest challenges of my life so far. We were competing against large national and international brands that ultimately control the market. So far we have been successful in our goals and have recently merged with a larger company to help us progress further www.hi-spirits.com. Hi Spirits have been extremely supportive towards me rowing in GB Bow Challenge, for which I am immensely grateful. The charities GB Row Challenge are supporting (The Outward Bound Trust (OB) and Leukaemia Research (Fergus Maclay Leukaemia Database) will have a great impact on our determination to do our absolute best to create a new world record! William Turnage's Online Diary - click here to read