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Firemen launch Atlantic naked rowing challenge
30.07.09
Two firemen today launched their bid to row naked across the Atlantic to raise £100,000 for charity.
Manchester Airport firefighters Dean Jagger and Neil Gyllenship are taking part in the Atlantic Rowing Race 2009, billed as the "world's toughest rowing race".
Their 3000 mile journey starts in Tenerife on December 6 and they plan to arrive in Antigua two months later.
They posed in boxer shorts, with fire helmets covering their modesty, before being hosed down by colleagues at the launch of Team Heatwave.
The pair, who have never rowed before, plan to make their journey more arduous by rowing in the nude. They will subsist on boil-in-the-bag meals and drink purified seawater.
They aim to raise more than £100,000 for Claire House Children's Hospice and the children's charity Childflight. The pair were inspired to "do something amazing" after visiting Claire House, which is based in The Wirral and serves the North West.
Mr Jagger, 40, who has three children and lives in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, said: "We wanted to do something amazing for charity. I wanted a life-changing challenge."
Watch manager Mr Gyllenship, 34, is married with a son and lives in Parkgate, Wirral.
He said: "We are really grateful for all of the support we have had from our colleagues and management at the fire department, without their support there is no way that we would have been able to go ahead with this."
Andrew Cornish, Manchester Airport's managing director, said: "We all wish them both the very best of luck."
Helen Carlson, area fundraiser for Claire House, said their efforts "conjure up feelings of both awe and inspiration".
For more information visit www.teamheatwave.co.uk
