On Sunday the 15th of August our 2 brave healthcare workers jumped from the skies high above the Oxfordshire countryside!  Donna was the first to exit the perfectly good aircraft closely followed by Niki, who could still hear Donna screaming as she plumeted towards earth!  Donna now has a love hate relationship with skydiving!  i.e. she loves to hate it!  However Niki seemed to enjoy the buzz.

We would like to thank both Donna and Niki for the effort they gave and for being so brave.

North Bar of Whitehaven

A big thank you to Bev and all the guys at the North Bar in Whitehaven, who over the weekend raised £175 which has gone towards rebuilding our boat trailer.

Hello to all following us and thank you for your patience!

We have some recent developments on the challenge.  Namely the boat and the sponsors we got onboard so as to speak!  Over the last few months we have seen some large sponsors come onboard from the oil and gas industry, DOF (district Offshore) BP, Transocean, RWE and Technip a subsea engineering and construction company.  We have also had a pledge from a company called Nexen who are a leading company in global energy services. 

This in turn has enabled us to push forward with the building of the boat.  We still have a long way to go and desperately need to find equipment for the boat e.g. VHF radio EPIRBS and GPS amongst other things to get the boat sea worthy!  I have attached some photos of the boat for all to see…. Oh and I nearly forgot we have a name for her too.  The boat will be named ‘Papa Delta’ this is an abrieviation in phonetic for Parkinsons Disease it is also a significant to the person who chose the name of the boat for us.

hi 

We will be having a gig in aid of the challenge at the local nightclub Gallaghers in Whitehaven on Friday 14th of August. A selection of local bands and acts will be playing, so if your do not have any plans get yourself along for a great night.

Tickets are priced at £5, you can pay on the door or email us for a ticket rowtheatlantic@yahoo.co.uk.

Thanks 

Mat and Chris with Bransty Social Club

Parkinsons Ocean Challenge would like to say a big thank to the Bransty Social Club for kindly donating £200. Many Thanks 

Hello to all  

Today we had a interview with a photographer for the local paper in our home town of Whitehaven.  Jim Davidson kindly met with us to hear about the challenge and to take some photos of us down at the harbour.  

After some fine tips on our posture and general photogenic qualities, or should we say lack of our photogenic qualities!!  We finally got some photos taken with the sea as the back drop.  As a result of today there will be an article appearing in the local press.  The Whitehaven news and the evening News and Star.  We have also recently had an article printed in the Maritime Journal courtesy of the Editor Larz Bourne so thank you to them for the support.  Please follow the link below for a look a their website and the article they wrote.  

http://www.maritimejournal.com/archive101/2009/may/online_news/parkinsons_atlantic_rowing_challenge_requires_support

Hello to all we have some news about the boat!  The building of the rowing boat is well under way, and it has just been removed from the mould in which it was formed.  We currently have around £6000 invested in the boat but still have a long way to go!!  There is now only approximately 3 weeks work left in the boat before she is ready to leave the yard where she will be taken to our home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria to be fitted out with the electrics and navigation equipment etc…  

Boat just out of the mould, now ready to have the cabins fitted and secured

On the 17th december Mathew and Chris had a meeting with the PDS to discuss a plan for sponsorship, and where we are with regards to targets. After discussion we have all decided that due to the current economic climate and work commitments of the rowers, the challenge will be postponed until January 2011. This will give more time to raise the funds required for the boat and equipment and also more time to meet the target set for raising money for the PDS. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this change.

On Thursday the 30th October Chris and Mathew went down to Rossiter Yachts in Dorset. They currently have a boat being constructed, and after a chat with the manager, we have now agreed to purchase the boat. The boat will be composite fibre moulded foam sandwich. Which makes the boat extremely light and very tough. The photo above is of the boat still in the mould, without the cabins attached yet and the the photo on the right is of a boat currently under construction for a pair competing in the Indian Ocean Rowing race.

Full costs of the boat have not yet been met and it is only a deposit we are putting down on the boat.