21st December 2011

LYME REGIS: Corinthians still battling it out

By Francesca Evans

THE Corinthians rowing team from Lyme Regis are still battling it out in the 3,000 mile Atlantic Challenge, now in fifth place.

The race from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Barbados in the Caribbean, which started earlier this month, is living up to its name of “the world’s toughest rowing race”, as five teams have now dropped out.

Chris Walters, Tony Short, Elliott Dale and Brian Fletcher - known as The Corinthians and the oldest team to ever take part in the challenge - are still going strong depsite technical problems.

The Corinthians took an early lead just hours into the race. They are still amongst the leading pack, in fifth place, with 1,689 nautical miles to go. This is despite their autohelm braking, meaning they now have to steer their boat, “Spirit of Corinth”, manually, leaving just one team member rowing at a time.

On social networking site Twitter, Mr Walters posted: “Tough day today, Autohelm has packed in altogether so manual steering the rest of the way now.”

Five other teams have been forced to pull out of the race - three due to problems with their boats, one who capsized and waited 10 hours in the Atlantic for rescue, and the fifth who lost their oars and gained concussion in an enormous wave.

Before setting out, The Corinthians said they hoped to be half way on Christmas Day and would celebrate with a packet of turkey-flavoured crisps.

The team’s progress can be followed at http://taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com or visit their own website www.spiritofcorinth.co.uk for more information or to donate to their chosen charities ShelterBox and the British Heart Foundation.

PICTURE: UP FOR THE CHALLENGE - The Corinthians pictured in La Gomera before setting off on the 3,000 mile race

LYME REGIS: Corinthians still battling it out

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