Doc ready to se sail on epic journey

Dr James Robins (26) and seven crewmates are hoping to make the fastest ever crossing of the ocean under human power, raising £20,000 for charity Neurocare in the process.

They travelled to starting point Gran Canaria last week and their 3,000-mile trip should take them all the way to Barbados.

The trans-Atlantic hopefuls are rowing in shifts of four, each snatching two hours of sleep at a time on their one-month journey.

“I’m very excited about it,” said James from the Spanish island, where he and his crewmates were working on getting their vessel ready this week.

“We’re just making everything ship shape and hoping for good weather.

“It’s going to be a very difficult challenge, but we’re confident we can make it and break some records too.”

The crew hopes to cross the ocean in under 30 days, row the longest distance in 24 hours and spend the most consecutive days rowing more than 100 miles.

“Having breaks of no more than two hours each for a month is going to be extremely difficult,” said James.

“My biggest fear is the weather though, our success is so dependent on it.

“We’re expecting waves ten metres high and we’re a very low-powered vessel so we can’t really navigate around storms.

“I think we’re all going to suffer sea sickness too. I’m not looking forward to that at all.”

For more information about the challenge – including a live voyage tracker app – visit www.atlanticfantastic.com. To sponsor James and the crew, visit www.justgiving.com/atlanticfantastic.