A Lochaber rower will have to face sharks. sleep deprivation, seasickness and blisters when he takes on a gruelling 3,000-mile challenge to raise money for charity.
Liam Browning, 29, of Fort William, and three friends he met at university have started training to row across the Atlantic ocean in what is considered to be “the world’s toughest rowing race”.
And they pointed out that more people had been into space, or climbed Everest than had rowed the Atlantic.
The team, calling themselves All Beans No Monkeys”, will be taking part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge between Antigua in the Caribbean and La Gomera in the Canary Islands in December 2015.
And they are hoping their efforts will raise £60,000 to be shared between three charities – The RNLI, UNICEF and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
Mr Browning, who was a keen rower when he attended university in Newcastle, was eager to meet up with the team and get on the water when they launched their boat for the first time last weekend.
He said: “It did feel fantastic to finally be on board our boat – or our new home from home may better describe it.
“It’s certainly going to be cosy on board, with not too much space.
“I had no sea sickness after the first row, but I’m sure it will catch us when we go for our next row, which will be six to 12 hours long. Overcoming that will be part of the challenge.
“We are so excited to get started with our training. It feels real now we have our boat. We have a long challenge ahead of us.”
The other team members are Stuart Markland, 31, James Timbs-Harrison, 32, and James Kendall, 29. They included the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in their list of charities because Mr Markland has a nephew with the life-shortening condition.
Taking shifts, the team will row for two hours and sleep for two hours continuously for up to 50 days.
But they are hoping to beat the current record of 39 days for completing the crossing.
Anyone wishing to sponsor them can do so at
http://allbeansnomonkeys.com