all relative Adkin



Cousins to row the Atlantic
April 28 2005

FOUR cousins, two from Exmouth, are aiming to row across the Atlantic Ocean in record time later this year in aid of Exmouth lifeboat station, writes Karl Grafton.
Justin Adkin, 25, and James Green, 23, both Exmouth lifeboat crew members, and their Beer cousins Robert Adkin, 22, and Martin Adkin, 19, are planning to row nearly 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in November faster than the current 36-day record. The quartet want to raise money towards a new boathouse for the Exmouth Lifeboat. The target amount needed to complete the new boathouse is £1 million, of which an estimated £450,000 has been raised so far. They have been backed in their endeavour by one of Britain's most accomplished mariners, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. He will name and launch the boat the crew will row, which has been built in Exmouth at Justin's boatyard, Rowsell and Adkin, at Camperdown Terrace.
		Justin Adkin
The rowing boat will be named All Relative and the launch and naming ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 21, at 5pm, from Exmouth inshore lifeboat station slipway. The crew have built the boat themselves for the Atlantic rowing race starting in November. The route between La Gomera in the Canary Isles and Antigua in the Caribbean is a voyage of about 2,937 miles. The 24-ft long, six-ft wide boat has sleeping berths at each end and the crew plan to row in pairs for one hour at a time while the other two sleep. They aim to chase the world record for a rowing boat crossing of 36 days and one hour set by the only four-man boat Queensgate. They also aim to set a new world record for the youngest person ever to complete the crossing, that being Martin Adkin at 19-years-old. James Green said: "Whereas Mount Everest has been climbed over two thousand times, this route has only been attempted by a hundred or so rowing boats before and only ever once as a foursome. We plan to be the first-ever, related four-man crew - all four rowers being cousins. If favourable weather conditions combine with our intensive training, it will give us a good chance to chase the world record." His cousin, Justin, added that preparations were well under way. He said: "We're going down to the gym everyday and we go out rowing daily too. Each of us has rowed all our lives, but rowing nearly 3,000 miles will be something else entirely."

Anyone who wants to sponsor their record attempt can contact Susan Green at susan_green05@yahoo.co.uk or telephone (01297) 22640.