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Devon based
Woodvale Events, organisers of a series of unique nautical
races, became the focus of national headlines yesterday when
the identity of the celebrity sportsman competing in the
Atlantic Rowing Race 2005 with BBC 1 presenter Ben Fogle,
was finally revealed.
Double
Olympic Gold medal rower James Cracknell has now
officially announced his participation into the Atlantic
Rowing race 2005, which will start from La Gomera, Canary
Islands on Sunday 27th November 2005. James will
be rowing with BBC 1 presenter and star of the BBC
1 reality TV programme Castaway, Ben Fogle.
Ben had already made public his intention to compete in the
Atlantic Rowing Race 2005: the ultimate in rowing races and
one of the toughest endurance events available today.
James
and Ben will compete on equal terms against 27 other teams,
a fleet of ordinary people from various different
backgrounds, countries and of all different ages all aiming
to win the Race and achieve something totally
extraordinary.
The Atlantic Rowing Race 2005 will be the
fourth edition of the event, and will include three classes
for single handed rowers, teams of two and teams of four.
The challenge is expected to take teams and
average of 55 days to complete, although the current record
for a race entry stands at 40 days. During this time, teams
live onboard their ocean rowing boats, surviving on ration
pack food and water produced using a water desalinator (a
unit that turns salt water into drinking water). The boat
is rowed 24 hours a day, with the competitors taking it in
turn to row, sleep and eat to keep the boat moving in the
direction of the finish. The teams will battle ever
changing weather conditions, switching from sunshine to
storms, big sea states and heavy rain.
Teresa Page, General Manager of Woodvale
Events says:
To have a professional Olympic rower of the calibre of
James Cracknell take part in this event is absolutely
fantastic and will assist grateful with the acceptance and
promotion of Ocean Rowing within the flat water rowing
world.
With the rowing experience and race
competiveness that James naturally possess, we anticipate
team Fogle and Cracknell will be an extremely strong team
and in with a good chance of winning the race.
Ben visited the Woodvale Events office,
situated on the edge of Dartmoor, on Tuesday afternoon to
meet with the team and get some advice from the experienced
staff at the company. They also visited the Woodvale Events
Boat Shed in South Brent, Devon, to meet the team behind the
build of their 23ft Woodvale Pairs boat, the unique design
of Ocean Rowing boat to be used by James and Ben, and
competitors in the Atlantic Rowing Race 2005, and the Indian
Ocean Rowing Race 2009. This is the same build team behind
the record breaking Woodvale Fours boat used by the Vivaldi
Four in their recent row across the Atlantic. |
