As proud sponsors of the Ocean Brothers, we are thrilled to announce they have completed their 3000-mile row across the Atlantic Ocean!
Lymington half-brothers Greg Bailey (28) and Jude Massey (19) have completed their record breaking trans-Atlantic row for the British Skin Foundation to raise money to fight skin cancer. They have also set world records in the process. Jude is now the youngest person to have rowed any ocean in a pair. The brothers are believed to be the first people to row the Atlantic on a vegan diet and are awaiting verification to have the world record of expending the most calories in a day. Their triumph has attracted the attention of TV, radio and the press!
The journey took them 53 days, rowing from Gran Canaria to Barbados. Their aim is to raise £100,000 for skin cancer research in memory of their dad/step dad, local businessman Peter Massey, who suffered with skin cancer for 16 years until he passed away in 2015.
They finally set foot on land at Port St. Charles, Sunday 11th March. Greg said, “I just feel totally overwhelmed to be here in Barbados and even more so to have received such a wonderful reception from all our family and friends. I’m so happy that we managed to complete the challenge for the British Skin Foundation in memory of Peter and raise awareness of skin cancer at the same time.”
Jude said, “After 53 days at sea, I feel really wobbly and I just can’t believe we’ve made it this far – it’s incredible. It also feels amazing to have a Guinness World Record and to have raised £83,000 for skin cancer research.”
Their mum, author Alexandra Massey said, “When I said goodbye to them at the airport in Gran Canaria, I walked away thinking “will I ever see them again?”. To have them back safe is a dream come true! I am incredibly proud of them and their determination to continue through the worst conditions. The best Mother’s Day present a mum could have!”.
Their row was fraught with problems and misfortunes. Their journey became a testament to human endurance including:
- A dramatic capsize at dusk in rough seas, spending 20 minutes in the water before scrambling back on board their boat and lost some equipment.
- Multiple equipment failures: The water maker broke 4 days in, so they rowed 2 hours on, 2 hours sleep AND had to hand pump water 5 hours a day to survive which was exhausting. Their GPS auto helm broke so they had to row with one arm and steer with the other almost the entire way which caused them both extreme back pain.
- Rough seas, 25 ft. waves, huge swells, hallucinations, sleep deprivation, exhaustion, being followed by sharks after scraping barnacles off the bottom of the boat, plus both physical and mental pain.
- A leaky boat and a constantly wet cabin.
- It wasn’t all bad though – the boys enjoyed shooting stars at night, beautiful skies, close encounters with whales, dolphins, turtles, flying fish and even picked up a stowaway bird (they named Pete) which stayed with them throughout.
The courageous pair will arrive back in the UK and their native Lymington on Friday 30th March courtesy of P&O Cruises flagship Britannia. The locals are planning a hero’s welcome with a colourful and noisy flotilla followed by a reception at The Haven – see www.Lymington.com for details of times and where to see the boys row up the Lymington River.
The Ocean Brothers have so far raised £83,000 – please dig deep and support them by making a donation.