Two Mansfield friends halfway through Atlantic charity row

Two friends say they are just over halfway through a 3,500-mile row across the Atlantic Ocean.

George Nelson and Russell Davis, 56 and 55 respectively, decided to take on the monumental challenge to raise money for dementia support.

Setting off from Portugal in December, the "Oar Blimey" team aim to reach Sint Maarten in the Caribbean by March.

The pair have witnessed whales, sharks and eight-metre waves, which have caused the boat to capsize twice.

After an emergency stop in Gran Canaria for Christmas to change a solar panel and battery, the two brothers-in-law, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, are now about 1,200 miles from their finishing point.

Mr Nelson said: "We've seen the Atlantic in all its guises and it's been absolutely incredible. Physically for us, it's been totally exhausting. What we're doing is literally eat, sleep, row, repeat.

"Sometimes it's really exciting, it's beautiful, then there are other times when it's scary and I would say downright dangerous.

"If we get four hours of sleep a day, it's a really good day, so we are a bit sleep-deprived."

He described "a very humbling experience" when their boat was followed by a minke whale.

"We've also had sharks, fish, sea birds. To see them all in their natural habitat was just absolutely awesome," Mr Nelson added.

The pair have battled 35mph (56km/h) winds, and at one point were finishing a day of rowing miles behind their starting point, which they described as "really disheartening".

They recently had to re-portion and ration their food, but are confident they have enough to last them.

As their boat is not brand new, the pair have had a number of issues.

Mr Nelson said: "Just about everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong for us. We've had two solar panels and two batteries, we're down to one now. We've got to nurture this battery through."

It means they are limited to a short window of communication time with their team on dry land each day.

Mr Nelson was also hit in the temple by a flying fish, which knocked his glasses off.

He added: "As stunned as I was, I just laughed. There's thousands of miles of open ocean here - how unlucky was that?"

The challenge is inspired by Mr Nelson's mother, who has dementia, and will raise money for Vicky McClure's Our Dementia Choir and Help at Hand, based in Ladybrook Community Centre in Mansfield.

He said: "To see how it affects our family, we wanted to do something to raise awareness of this cruel disease.

"Russ and I have got an absolute focus, the positive mental attitude that each of us has got is to get up, get on the oars, on time, every time, whether it's sunny, raining, windy. We're absolutely committed to succeed here."

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