Chester woman aims to row Atlantic naked

[missmojorising]

I wonder if they have a "Base Tan"?...

Chester woman aims to row Atlantic naked - Liverpool Daily Post.co.uk

A WOMAN from Chester yesterday set off on an epic adventure to row across the Atlantic naked.

Rachel Smith, 37, and her rowing partner Lin Griesel, set off from La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, in the gruelling Atlantic Rowing Challenge to raise money for breast cancer research.

Rachel and Lin, 40, became friends while taking part in dragon boat racing in Liverpool.

The pair also aim to break the current British women’s record for rowing across the Atlantic during the 2,935-mile rowing race which ends in Antigua.

The current record is 71 days, 22 hours and 24 mins, set in 2006 by Becky Thorpe and Steph Temperton, who also rowed across to Antigua.

Rachel and Lin aim to raise £100,000 for breast cancer research, a charity both women feel strongly about after each losing relatives to the disease.

The race means that for more than two months – including Christmas and her birthday – Rachel, who is normally a marketing manager for the Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate, will instead be in the middle of the Atlantic

During the race, the pair will experience extremes of blistering heat and waves as big as houses, while having to dodge large tankers in their 24 ft boat.

Rachel said: “Most people ask about the physical side, about the training, but having talked to a lot of other rowers that is only a small part of it.”

The pair will also be copying Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell and television presenter Ben Fogle who took part in the Atlantic race two years ago. Rachel Smith admitted people had been interested to know if they would be taking their clothes off – and why.

She said: “It’s recommended that you do row naked for health and hygiene reasons. If you get salt water on your clothes it can rub quite badly – that’s the real reason people row naked.

“But we’re not starting off with no clothes on, and sometimes the sun will be so strong you have to cover yourself up because of the dangers of being burnt.”

She said for safety reasons they had decided to make their attempt as part of an organised race.

FOR more details about their preparations and race, see the website http://www.atlanticrowing challenge.co.uk