A Limerick man and a Canadian woman will undertake the challenge of a lifetime this weekend when they compete in a 3,000-mile rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean.
Paul Gleeson (29) and his girlfriend Tori Holmes (21) hope to raise €250,000 for Concern by the time they have completed their transatlantic voyage. They will leave from La Gomera Port in the Canary Islands on Sunday and they hope to reach Antigua in two months.
Only two Irish people have completed the marathon journey and Holmes is aiming to become the first Canadian person to take part in the event.
The couple, who met in Australia when they took part in a charity cycle from Perth to Sydney, had never rowed before they decided to undertake this challenge which has cost them €80,000.
Organised by English company Woodvale Events, the inaugural race took place in 1997 and to date only 141 people have completed it.
During their voyage which covers 3,000 nautical miles, they will sleep on the boat and they must be able to survive on food and fresh-water supplies stored on board the small craft.
The couple will be rowing in a boat which was given to them by brothers Éamon and Peter Kavanagh, the only Irish people to have taken part in the event.
"They gave us the boat on condition that we wouldn't rename it - it's named after their late mother Christina - and also on condition that we don't quit," Gleeson said. "If we quit during the race then the organisers will burn our boat as we cannot leave debris out at sea. Obviously Éamon and Peter don't want their boat burned!"
He added: "The past month has been absolutely crazy as we tried to get everything organised to ship the boat. We managed to get everything together and on Thursday, October 6th, the Christina began her trip out to the Canary Islands for the race start on November 27th," he added.
Along with many of the other boats competing in the race, the Christina was shipped to La Gomera in a 40ft container.
Getting boats to the starting line can prove very difficult according to Paul, and out of the 48 teams which originally entered the race, only 27 teams have managed to get their boats to La Gomera in time.
"To win the race, we would have to complete it in 40 days," Gleeson said, "and, even though both myself and Tori are extremely competitive, I don't think we'll achieve this, given that we will be competing against some world champion rowers. Our aim is to complete it in 60 days. It's going to be tough but we are both really looking forward to it."
Anyone interested in supporting their charity fundraiser or finding out about their transatlantic progress can contact their website on www.row4concern. com