Four Irish men are about to undertake the journey of a lifetime in order to gain vital funds for Cork University Hospital.Junior doctors Seán Underwood and Patrick O’Connor, Cork-based podiatrist Eoin O’Farrell and young Dublin entrepreneur Thomas Browne will aim to break a world record by rowing over 5,000 kilometres across the Atlantic Ocean in under 35 days.
The team, dubbed the ‘Relentless Rowers’, hopes to break the current world record by completing the Talisker Whiskey Challenge from the Canary Island of La Gomera to the Caribbean island of Antigua.
They will set off on their adventure on December 12 in the hope of raising over €20,000 for the children’s unit at the hospital.
The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge is known as the world’s toughest row, and the team will take part in a specially-designed small 28ft ocean rowing boat, named Saoirse. They will receive no outside assistance and no re-supplies of food, drink or equipment during the race, surviving solely on what’s on-board.
Underwood is under no illusions about the challenge the lads face as he said:
“Fewer people have crossed the Atlantic than have climbed Everest, so we’re well aware of the challenge we’re undertaking, but quite simply, we believe that you only get one shot at life, everybody dies but not everybody lives.
“In the hospitals we work in, we are faced almost daily with the fragility of the human condition. To put a dream on hold in the hope of affording a better time to do it is a dangerous thing. Life fleets past us. There is and will never be a ‘good’ time to row an ocean, so we’re acting on our dreams here and now.
“If we can make a difference to just one child in the CUH Children’s Unit by competing in this race, then it will all have been worth it.”
While their primary goal is to raise funds for the Children’s Unit at CUH, the team is also hoping to raise awareness for suicide prevention charity Pieta House.
You can follow the lads’ progress on the Relentless Rowers Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages where you’ll find details of how to donate.
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