In a few days time, four brothers will set a world record as the first rowing team made entirely of brothers to cross the whole of the Atlantic.
While many siblings find being stuck under one roof challenging, it’s a testament to their endurance that the four of them have shared two rowing benches and one tent-sized cabin for nearly 4 weeks.
The adventurous brothers are two sets of twins—26-year-olds Jack and Hamish Friend, and 24-year-olds Euan and Arthur Friend.
The foursome from Devon, England have already raised more than 80k for charities since setting off on their epic endurance challenge nearly a month ago.
Naming their team ‘The FriendShip,’ they trained for the grueling feat for a total of 18 months ahead of their departure on December 12th from La Gomera, in the Canary Islands.
And they are expected to finally complete the Talisker Atlantic Challenge race and arrive at their destination, Antigua, in the next week. The Talisker Challenge usually consists of 20-40 rowing teams, and the boys’ latest diary entry claims they were in 4th, but gaining fast on 3rd place-holders.
“There have been some massive highs and some pretty low moments over the past 26 days,” said Hamish in a video, reflecting on their progress on Friday. “High moments from just surfing down some massive waves (…) and these amazing starry skies and amazing sunrises and sunsets.
“Low moments such as being slapped in the face by a flying fish at two in the morning, to getting absolutely soaked by these Atlantic storms that come along. Sitting in your cabin all damp and wet trying to get to sleep.”
Indeed, Talisker describes the Atlantic Challenge thusly.
“Sleep deprivation, hallucinations, hunger and the ultimate test of body and mind will be balanced by sighting incredible marine life, witnessing the breaking of a new day and sun sets that cannot be viewed by land.”
The twins each complete 2-hour rowing sessions before rotating into the cabin for rest and recovery.
They consume around 6,000 calories a day of freeze-dried food and make their own drinking water from a solar-powered desalination unit.
The brothers are completing the challenge in aid of three local charities, and have so far raised a whopping £82,000 for the cause.
The charities are CHAT, a vital service for those struggling with housing issues in Mid Devon; the Drive Forward Foundation, which enables children and young people with experience of foster or residential care to achieve their full potential; and Friends of Kiwoko Hospital, a charity set up to support the work of the Kiwoko Hospital in Uganda.
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Katie Humphreys, 22, is Euan’s girlfriend and has been keeping in regular contact to share their progress on social media.
“They are loving it,” she said. “I’m quite shocked—they don’t even want it to end.”
“They have loved being able to push themselves to their mental and physical limits. They have also raised over £80k for three fantastic charities and that’s what’s driving them to do the challenge.”
TAKE a tour of the FriendShip below…
CHEER On This Incredible Feat OF Athleticism And Brotherly Love…
Wow. That’s a lot of work and suffering for about $101,000 USD. I wonder if they could raise more money by selling chocolate chip cookies through grocery stores? Asking for the Cookie monster.