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Row the Rock Challenge gathers pace
A HARDY team of veterans and novices are preparing to row non-stop around the Isle of Man in a Viking longboat.
Members of the Row the Rock Challenge will become only the second team to attempt the audacious feat when they set out from Peel on August 21.
They are intent on beating the record set by the first crew in 1995, who navigated the 90 miles of Manx coastal waters in 27 hours.
By timing their journey to hit the right tides, they hope to slash at least a couple of hours off the record – in the same boat used to set it 15 years ago.
The team even includes one member of the original 1995 crew, Alan Kneen, who rowed halfway around the Irish Sea two years ago in the Manx Rowing Challenge charity fundraiser.
Row the Rock is the brainchild of Richard Trubshaw and Andy Mulhern, who have pledged all sponsorship money to the RNLI, Sailing for the Disabled and the Hyperbaric Chamber.
The pair were inspired by a conversation with Nigel Wood, one of the crew who rowed the longboat Odin's Raven – now on display in the House of Manannan in Peel – from Norway to the Isle of Man as part of the Island's millennium celebrations in 1979.
Mr Trubshaw said: 'It was an amazing story and, after chatting to Nigel, we wanted to do something similar.
'We went over ideas such as crossing deserts or climbing mountains.
'But then we found out that a group of lads had rowed around the Island in a longboat in 1995 and we thought "there's a record to be broken there".'
They contacted Jimmy Lee of the Viking Longboat Races committee, who loaned them the original round-the-Island boat for the challenge.
'We thought about trying to recruit a team of experienced rowers, but we realised it would be more of an achievement to get our friends together.
'We've got people from all walks of life – teachers, surveyors, bankers, electricians. Half of them have taken part in the longboat races before but the others have never tried it,' said Mr Trubshaw.
A squad of 21 men are training for 12 hours a week to reach the required fitness level. Next week, they will attempt their first night row of five hours.
They have also received some valuable tips from Nigel Rawlinson, a member of the longboat committee and the '95 team, on how to row efficiently and how to navigate around the Island.
Mr Trubshaw said they planned to use the same tactics used 15 years ago, by picking a team of 15 men who would row 10 at a time and rotate every hour.
'We wanted to keep as many things as possible the same as last time, so that beating the record would come down to grit and determination,' he said.
But the Row the Rock team intend to learn from their predecessors' mistakes by timing their lap of the Island to take advantage of strong tides at Langness, The Sound and the Point of Ayre.
In 1995, the team were stuck at anchor for a total of three hours after finding themselves rowing against the tide.
Mr Trubshaw added: 'We're all competitive and we'll be gunning for that record. We've already talked about making it a head-to-head race next year, maybe with teams from across.'
To sponsor the Row the Rock Challenge, contact Richard Trubshaw on 419999 or Andy Mulhern on 496555.
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Weather for Isle of Man
Saturday 04 February 2012
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