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November 29, 2003
06:36 To most people, three attempts to row
single-handedly across the Atlantic would be more than enough.
But for Matt Boreham, a fourth effort is just around the corner and this
time he is determined to finish one of the world's toughest races.
And for the 35-year-old, the challenge of raising awareness for the
National Blood Service is even more important, in that he nearly died
before he was two years old.
He was just 22 months old when he was run over by a bus, and suffered
horrific injuries to his right leg.
As a result, Mr Boreham, who has lived in Ingworth, near Aylsham, for four
years, is a willing blood donor.
The oarsman, who is not registered disabled, even though he is eligible
for it, is ready to take on the might of the ocean for around 60 days and
nights in a 16ft purpose-built rowing boat.
The Alison May, named after Mr Boreham's wife, would cost £35,000-£40,000
to buy, and is fully equipped with the latest global satellite positioning
systems and enough supplies for 90 days.
Mr Boreham first took part in the race with his brother back in 1997. But
the pair had technical problems with their water-making machine halfway
through the event and were rescued by Portuguese sailors.
The following year, technical problems again robbed Mr Boreham of his
opportunity and in 2000, in the north Atlantic race from Canada, his boat
was lost in transit and he eventually got into the water more than two
months after the other boats.
As a result he missed the weather "window", and decided to turn back a
couple of weeks before the season's first storms kicked in.
Since then there has been little chance for Mr Boreham to train on the
water as the conditions are unrealistic, so most of the training is done
in the gym.
Despite the past failures, he is not worried about being regarded as mad,
as he prepares to take part yet again.
"There's an awful lot of scepticism but I'm in the privileged position of
having a reasonable amount of experience," he said.
"It can be tremendously boring and there's no room to go for a walk in the
morning. Every minute can seem like an hour, and you end up looking at the
same sky night after night.
"I normally take a book for when I get time to read and I've also got a
Walkman. I have got a radio and I can play it as loud as I want in the
middle of the ocean!"
Mr Boreham's boat is powered by electricity generated through solar panels
on top of the vessel and a large number of batteries as a back up.
However, there is not a great deal of time to spend relaxing.
"I aim to row for 18 hours in every 24," he said. "That is the ideal
target but it is very flexible.
"It's difficult to row in the middle of the day when it's baking hot but
sometimes in the dark you can't see where you're going."
The oarsman, who has a home improvement company, says that the race is not
particularly scary.
"Even though you sometimes don't know where you are or the GPS system is
on the blink, you are being tracked the whole of the way by the
organisers," he said.
The Ocean Rowing Society race starts on January 20 from the Canary Islands
and ends in Barbados in the Caribbean.
Mr Boreham is looking for sponsorship for his marathon effort, and to find
out more, and keep track of progress of his attempt, email him at
rowingmatt@aol.com
The National Blood Services helpline is on 0845 77 11 711. |
