27 August 2006

On Friday 25 August 2006, four British Army men, all from the newly formed Yorkshire Regiment based in Warminister, became the second crew in the Shepherd Ocean Fours Rowing Race 2006 to successfully cross the race finish line.

Seventy five days previously, four courageous teams of four set off from New York Harbour, USA to embark on a unique adventure, to row 2,863 nautical miles across the North Atlantic Ocean to Falmouth, UK, in the worlds first ever North Atlantic Ocean Rowing Race. Competing on equal terms in purposely designed and built 29ft long ocean rowing boats known as the Woodvale Fours class, the teams have been racing against each other to be the first to cross the finish line, in the fastest possible time.

Finishing the race exactly one week after the race winners, Boat #3 – Yorkshire Warrior crewed by fellow servicemen, Paul Tetlow, Mick Cataldo, Carl Powell and Andrew Unwin crossed the race finish line, a line of longitude from Bishop Rock Lighthouse (at 06 26.74W), today at 0905 hours GMT (1005 Hours BST) in a total crossing time of 75 days, 17 hours and 21 minutes.

Raising valuable funds and awareness for the Army Benevolent Fund, Paul, Mick, Carl and Andrew have battled against some of the worst ocean conditions imaginable. The full force of Tropical Depression Alberto that went straight over the fleet in the first week of the race caused the sea anchor line of the Yorkshire Warrior to become caught around a fishing buoy damaging the boats daggerboard beyond repair. In the latter stages of the race, the crew were presented with consistent strong Northerly winds which made positive progress towards the finish location in Falmouth almost impossible and they have also been rationing food for the last two weeks of the crossing.

However, the Dukes had their very own way of dealing with these bad days - they created a “List of Happiness”. Whenever morale on the boat was low, the crew would add a luxury item to their List of Happiness and having now crossed the finish line, the contents of their list of happiness have been passed to the crew for them to happily consume on the way in to Falmouth.

Woodvale Events Ltd Managing Director, Simon Chalk comments:
“The crew of the Yorkshire Warrior have shown true British grit and determination throughout the whole crossing, overcoming all of the obstacles that have been thrown in their path. Although they have been without voice comms for six weeks now, they have never lost their sense of humour and they should be very proud of what they have achieved.”

Having crossed the race finish line, the crew of the Yorkshire Warrior requested a tow from race support RIB, Woodvale Alpha, for the 65 miles remaining in to Falmouth and eventually touched foot back on to dry land at Port Pendennis Marina at 1030 hours BST on Saturday 26 August 2006. Among the many family members and friends eagerly waiting to greet them, was a group of fellow soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment with a traditional military ceremonial welcome.