Rowers smash world record
Intrepid Guy Parkes and his team have smashed their way into the world record books by rowing across the English Channel in a Cornish fishing gig.
Mr Parkes, aged 43, from Shalbourne, and his 13 companions had only passenger liners and a small support crew for company as they crossed the vast expanse of ocean between Dover and Sangatte.
They beat the current record by seven minutes by rowing the distance of just over 22 miles in 4:19 hours compared to the previous record of 4:26 hours.
An exhausted but jubilant Mr Parkes said, after touching French sand: “We made it!”
He added later: “The reaction from friends, family and the local area has been phenomenal and has enabled us to raise over £10,000 in sponsorship for our chosen charities – Marie Curie cancer Care and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
With Mr Parkes in two gigs were local rowers Jack Frost, aged 44, of West Grafton, 43-year-old Simon Keyes from East Grafton and Andrew Callaghan, aged 43, from Great Bedwyn.
Earlier this month, comedian John Bishop completed his gruelling cross-Channel row despite becoming delirious and nodding off during the journey.
But Mr Parkes pointed out: “A crew had never continuously rowed across the channel without resting or rotating a fresh crew and so we set a new world record. We’re all delighted with the result which was a close run thing.
“It was the culmination of four months training and we nearly had to abandon the feat due to bad weather that weekend. But as the forecast improved we ventured down to Dover on the Monday night and hoped for a clear day today - and it was absolutely perfect, a calm sea all the way.”
The team has raised £10,000 for charity.
To give Mr Parkes a boost by donating to either charity, go to (RNLI) www.justgiving.com/guysrowingchallenge or (Marie Curie) www.justgiving.com/guy-parkes
And to see video footage of their epic voyage, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omz49FiKmN8&feature=youtu.be
Last year Mr Parkes raised more than £1,200 by walking 184 miles from the source of the Thames to the sea to fund research into and raise awareness of Parkinson’s Disease, which recently struck his father-in-law.
Marie Curie Cancer Care provides high quality nursing, totally free, to give people with terminal cancer and other illnesses the choice of dying at home, supported by their families.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways.
