Local Linda Blakely is rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean, aiming to break the World Record for a female crossing, of 40 days. Linda will set out from Gran Canaria, destination St Lucia, 3000 miles, in January 2024.

The challenge is to raise money for Medical Action Research, donation can be made at the Ulster Warrior JustGiving Webpage.

After her accent of Mount Everest, her mission is to cross the treacherous Atlantic on her own, beating the new world record for a solo crossing of 40 days and 19 hours set by 35-year-old Englishwoman Victoria Evans last year.

This challenge is not for the faint hearted, battling sleep deprivation as well as terrifying waves will make it the ultimate endurance test. In a recent interview Linda set out her plans.

“I think the training is even more difficult as I am rowing in coastal waters around the British Isles which are very tidal and the navigation is quite tricky and that’s something I won’t have to do in the Atlantic,” 

“I think it will be mentally harder than it will be physically and I am expecting it to be tough.

“I think the loneliness of spending five weeks at sea on my own in a small space will be hard.

“I plan to row three hours on and three hours off.

“My boat is a 12-foot Rannoch 10 and it has a small cabin at each end, one for sleeping in and one for storing the rudder.

“In my three hours break, I will eat quickly and then try to get a rest for two-and-a-half hours. I’m not too worried about sleep deprivation as it is amazing how the body can acclimatise to stuff.

“I’ve been told the swells are so big that on the top of them you can see the curvature of the earth and when you look up from the bottom of them you are in an arena of water.

“The wildlife will be great and I am hoping to see dolphins, sharks and whales.”

Action Medical Research helps with research for rare diseases, There are 7,000 rare diseases – 75% of these affect children and, sadly, 30% of children with a rare condition will lose their lives before their fifth birthday. Thousands of children across the UK are living with rare diseases that have no cures.

Action Medical Research is fighting for children’s lives through funding research. We are striving to develop treatments and cures to tackle rare diseases that devastate children’s lives and affect families who are coping with the daily challenges of caring for a sick child. Medical research gives hope – hope for new treatments, hope for a cure and hope that no family will have to go through the heartbreak of losing a child to a rare disease.

For more details action.org.uk