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RARING TO ROW
One of the hardest parts of rowing the Atlantic is to get to the start line in La Gorma and that’s exactly what we have found,” explained Kevin Watkins, who had previously planned to row the Atlantic in aid of the charity Action Medical Research with Team Elijah. Instead, Kevin took the decision to set up another team – Raring to Row and to set off in Dec 2022. “The two teams are on the best of terms and we are looking forward to cheering on Elijah Star when they set off on their journey”. Raring to Row is now a mixed team, with everyone bringing something different to the campaign. Gemma, a seasoned ocean rower, completed the Tallisker Whiskey Atlantic Campaign (TWAC) in 2020 as part of Force Genesis and is seeking to set a record for the first woman to row the TWAC twice. “There is competition for this record though, which is
going to make things interesting,” said Kevin, who is the teams’ Royal naval veteran and his engineering skills will no doubt come to the fore during the crossing. Helen currently makes up the line-up, with a pedigree of crewing sea racing yachts and small boats at the highest level and out of the sight of land - a great asset to the team. “We are actively recruiting for a fourth member of the team and so if this interests you contact hello@raringtorow.com”, Action Medical Research actively fund research into rare disease in childhood, which is woefully unfunded and can often leave families without any hope or support. The Raring to Row team, want to give genuine hope to children and families affected by rare diseases. This issue is very much understood first-hand by the team, as Gemma tragically lost two sisters to Rare Diseases.
The team at the Dine with Davina event in aid of Action Medical Research. L-R is Helen Stone-Ward, Davina McCall, Gemma Best and Kevin Watkins
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