Tim Wilks gets to grips with his new home for up to two months. There’s not much room in the sleeping cabin of Martha Dos, but Tim and Peter Raab will grab some shut eye there between shifts rowing from Puerto Colon, Tenerife to Antigua, West Indies.
It really is a case of in at the deep end for Tim, who was a late substitute, only agreeing to join the project 4 weeks ago. The boat will set off on December 8 so Tim arrived in Tenerife yesterday, from Darlington, with lots of catching up to do.
“I’m pretty fit in myself” said the former semi pro rugby player “but I have to get used to the rowing discipline and have courses and tests to take concerning basic safety and navigation at sea.”
Tim is a well travelled adventurer and has followed the previous Atlantic rowing challenges from afar as the desire to take part grew. “A lot of it is about mental strength and I have always had that quality.”
All the hard training and the race itself are for a good cause, raising money for the Orobal charity, based in Los Cristianos, which helps to improve the quality of life for mentally and physically handicapped children. Freebird are pleased to be backing the challenge and will be arranging a series of fund raising events.