Four of the Kingsbridge and Salcombe Cougars are swapping their hockey sticks for oars next year as they row the Atlantic in aid of the Devon Air Ambulance.

The four women are taking part in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, becoming part of a very small group of people, fewer have rowed the Atlantic than have been to space.

The team, Louise Read, 49, Helen Symons, 30, Chloe Harvey, 26, and Gemma Harvey, 26, are aiming to not only survive the gruelling and dangerous 3,000 mile challenge, but to break the World Record and become the fastest all-female crew to do it.

The team are taking part in the 2018 Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, and are hoping to break the current World Record, which stands at 40 days, set by the ‘Row Like a Girl’ team in 2016.

The challenge, in December next year, will see the women take on one of the toughest rows in the world, setting out from San Sebastian, Canary Islands, to Nelson’s Dockyard English Harbour, Antigua.

Once teams row themselves out of the safety of the harbour they are on their own, unsupported and at the mercy of the ocean and the elements.

Louise will be celebrating her 50th birthday mid-row and is married with two daughters, two step-children and four grandchildren. The rest of the team are made up of a driving instructor, Helen, and two farmer’s daughters and second cousins, Gemma and Chloe. Chloe is currently working as a legal assistant and Gemma is on the graduate scheme at the National Farmer’s Union.

In a statement released by the team, who have called themselves Astro to Atlantic, they said: “We have played hockey together, as part of the Kingsbridge and Salcombe Cougars, for the past eleven years (although slightly longer for some of the more mature team members!)

“We have decided to swap our sticks for oars and take on a challenge on a scale which none of us have ever faced before. To put it into perspective, more people have been into space than have made it across the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat, a fact that is both daunting but also incredibly exciting!”

Rowing two hours on, two hours off, around the clock for at least 40 days, fighting non-stop against the harsh, and often terrifying conditions of the mid-Atlantic.

The team will be coming up against 60ft waves whilst coping with sleep deprivation, salt sores and a huge calorie deficit, all while living on a boat that measures just two metres by seven, with nothing but four sets of oars and their own physical and mental strength to propel them towards their goal.

Their statement continued: “Some might think that we are crazy, but we love a challenge, and us hockey girls don’t do things by half, so why not take on one of the toughest challenges on the planet?

“But our love of a challenge is not the only reason we are facing up to the toughest opponent any of us have ever faced, we will be rowing for the Devon Air Ambulance Trust.

“This is a charity close to all of our hearts and one which we want to be the biggest benefactor of efforts, with every stroke helping us to raise the funds needed to keep our air ambulances flying.

“Making it to the start line is the toughest part of the challenge, so over the coming months we will be looking for local businesses to ‘come aboard’ and help to support our challenge. We are offering a range of sponsorship opportunities, please feel free to visit our website for further details.”

You can find Astro to Atlantic on their website: www.astro-to-atlantic.co.uk or contact them via email: [email protected]