All Relatives



It's all relative for ocean rowers
May 27 2005
BEER'S Atlantic rowers launched their boat in Exmouth last Saturday, before a crowd of spectators and cameras. The official naming ceremony was carried out by yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who wished the men good luck on their trip. The boat is called All Relative - a reference to the fact that the rowers are all brothers or cousins. The crew comprises brothers Justin, 25, and Robert Adkin, 22, and their cousins James Green, 23, and Martin Adkin, 19.
Mr Green said: "The ceremony was a roaring success. Sir Robin made a short speech and enthused about the project." The 24-foot boat has a cabin at each end, so two of the men can sleep while the other two are rowing. There is storage space for 50 days' food supplies, de-salination equipment to make drinking water, and cooking facilities. "The water is drawn up from underneath the boat and 12 litres of pure water is stored in its base so it also acts as ballast. "We are taking a lot of high protein and sugary food like peanuts and chocolate and the rest is dried food to mix with hot water," Mr Green said. During the voyage, the men each expect to lose about three stone in weight. "We are eating a lot of calories at the moment but are not really putting on any weight because of the amount of training," Mr Green said. "But as the training drops off, we will start to put on a bit of extra bulk, so it's a good excuse for plenty of beer and curries. "We may have a weigh-in when we get to the start at La Gomera, then we can see who has lost the most at the end," he added. The trip is planned for November and should take about 40 days, ending in Antigua in the Caribbean. The rowers are hoping to benefit from favourable weather conditions common at that time of year. "It's just after the hurricane season so we should benefit from the Trade Wind, a continuous easterly, which should be behind us," Mr Green said. On Sunday morning, the rowers made the three and a half hour trip to Beer for a blessing on the beach by the Reverend Anne Thorne. "It was a good service with perhaps 80 people there. "It's very hard to estimate how many there were but they were five or six deep round the boat with more people watching from Charlie's Yard," Mr Green said. The rowers are raising money to build a new lifeboat station in Exmouth and are grateful for all the support they have had so far. Anyone wanting to offer sponsorship should contact Susan Green on (01297) 22640