Boralex is delighted to be lead Gold sponsor of an ambitious world-record attempt in May this year, by local Scottish couple Allan Lipp and Mhairi Ross (known as Stormy and Steth) with the aim of becoming the first mixed pairs team to circumnavigate Great Britain by rowing boat.
The attempt, titled “The Long Row Home”, will be raising funds for two charities – the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and SCAA (Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance).
Allan is coxswain of the Wick lifeboat, while Mhairi is a paramedic with the Scottish Ambulance Service and a volunteer navigator with the RNLI. Together, they have 35 years’ seagoing experience.
Allan said: “The journey around the coastline is some 2000 nautical miles and we estimate it will take around 60 days to complete and are aiming to depart from Wick week commencing 27 May.”
Their rowing vessel, Boudicea, is a carbon-fibre boat measuring just seven metres from bow to stern. To achieve the record, the pair must undertake the challenge completely unassisted, so will not touch land or accept provisions throughout the entirety of their journey. Instead, they will rely on the meticulously planned and carefully packed supplies that will be stowed onboard, while an onboard desalinator unit will be used to produce drinking water.
The duo is gearing up for an intense rowing routine which will consist of one person rowing while the other rests to maintain seamless rotation and a continuous 24-hour effort towards their goal.
“Our journey is about pushing boundaries and testing our limits,” said Mhairi. “First and foremost, we need to be physically fit for the challenge, so we are maintaining a strict training schedule alongside our busy jobs and all the other preparations that are necessary before we set off.”
Esbjorn Wilmar, Managing Director of Boralex UK said: “Boralex is proud to be supporting this amazing challenge which will support the life-saving work of the RNLI and SCAA. Many of our wind farms, including our Limekiln project, are in very remote, rural locations and the work that SCAA does, in particular, can be critical to saving lives.”
A JustGiving account has been set up for donations at https://justgiving.com/team/stormyandsteth.
“We hope that people will want to follow us on our journey through social media,” said Allan, “so we’ve also set up a Facebook page and an Instagram account. The Long Row Home is a huge challenge, of course, but we are very much looking forward to it and thank Boralex for their generous support.”
Boralex will be following the team online every step of the way.