Two friends are rowing across the Atlantic Ocean and they have already completed more than half of the 3,500-mile journey.
George Nelson, who is 56, and Russell Davis, who is 55, have decided to raise money for dementia support.
The “Oar Blimey” team plans to leave Portugal in December and arrive in Sint Maarten in the Caribbean by March.
The two people saw whales, sharks, and really big waves that made the boat flip over two times.
‘Very risky’
After stopping in Gran Canaria for Christmas to fix a solar panel and battery, two brothers-in-law from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, are now about 1,200 miles away from where they need to be.
Mr Nelson said: “We have seen the different sides of the Atlantic Ocean and it has been really amazing. ” Physically, we’re really tired. What we’re doing is simply eating, sleeping, rowing, and then doing it all over again.
“Sometimes it’s really fun and nice, but other times it can be scary and really dangerous. ”
“If we only get four hours of sleep a day, it’s a good day for us, but we are still a little sleep-deprived. ”
He said it was very humbling when a minke whale followed their boat.
“We’ve seen sharks, fish, and sea birds too. ” Nelson said it was really amazing to see all of them in their natural home.
The couple struggled with strong winds and ended up rowing back to where they started, which made them feel really discouraged.
They had to divide and limit their food, but they believe they have enough to survive.
Because their boat is not new, they have had many problems.
Mr Nelson said that almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for us. We had two solar panels and two batteries, but now we only have one. We need to take care of this battery.
This means they can only talk to their team on land for a short time every day.
Mr Nelson got hit in the head by a flying fish. It made his glasses fall off.
He said, “I was very surprised, but I just laughed. ” There is a lot of open ocean here – that’s really unlucky.
The challenge is to raise money for organizations helping people with dementia, inspired by Mr Nelson’s mother who has dementia. This will support Vicky McClure’s Our Dementia Choir and Help at Hand at Ladybrook Community Centre in Mansfield.
He said: “We wanted to do something to help our family understand this terrible disease better. ”
Russ and I are really focused on staying positive and getting on the oars on time, no matter the weather. We are fully dedicated to doing well here.
Tag: Nottinghamshire
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Two friends from Mansfield halfway through Atlantic charity row
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Man being held on gangmaster offence suspicion
A man has been arrested on suspicion of a crime related to being in charge of a gang or group, after investigators searched a farm in Nottinghamshire.
The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) said that they, along with Nottinghamshire Police and Immigration Enforcement, carried out a raid in Calverton on Thursday.
Police arrested a man from Belgium who is 41 years old. They believe he was working as a gangmaster without the proper license.
The GLAA said that the suspect was let go on bail until December.
The GLAA also searched houses in Lowdham and Nottingham.
A gangmaster is someone who hires people to work on farms doing jobs related to agriculture, horticulture, and dairy farming.
People running gangs need to get permission from the GLAA before they can hire workers. -
Police Commander fired after fabricating illness to travel to Turkey
A police officer got fired because he lied about being sick to take a vacation.
Nottinghamshire Police Constable Joseph Jennings asked twice for time off, including April 29th, but his request was denied because there were not enough staff available.
That morning, a few hours before he was supposed to work, he sent a text to his boss saying he had a stomach virus called norovirus.
But it was later discovered that this was not true, as PC Jennings had actually flown to Turkey with his partner the day before.
The police in Nottinghamshire have allowed PC Jennings to take time off work from April 30th to May 3rd, but not on April 29th.
The force had a meeting to discuss bad behavior that happened quickly on Thursday. PC Jennings said he was sorry for what he did and admitted that he made a bad choice, which he promises not to do again.
He said that the holiday couldn’t be canceled and that he wanted to take April 29th off.
In the hearing, Chief Constable Kate Meynell led the meeting. They were informed that PC Jennings’ team did not have enough staff, which is necessary. PC Jennings’ actions were described as dishonest, reckless, and selfish.
The officer was fired after the meeting.
Ms Meynell expressed that it is reasonable for the public to not expect this type of behavior from police officers.
The officer asked for time off from work, but it was denied because we need enough staff to keep our communities and each other safe.
The public should expect that when a police officer does something very wrong, their actions will be questioned and addressed to make sure that people can still trust and have confidence in them. -
Man vandalizes a police car, 17 vehicles, and a store window
A man has been detained after smashing up 17 cars in one night, including with a police cruiser.
The 23-year-old guy is accused of tearing through the cars on nearby streets in West Bridgford, a commuter town in Nottinghamshire, early yesterday morning.
After learning that a vandal had been breaking windscreens and wing mirrors, police were summoned to Bryon Road at about 1:30 in the morning.
One of the damaged vehicles was a police car that was parked in front of West Bridgford Police Station and had its wing mirror damaged.
A front window of a Caffe Nero along the high street Central Avenue was also found shattered during the vandalism spree.
Police detained a suspect at nearby Trent Bridge on suspicion of criminal damage and remains in police custody.
The vandal struck the cars all in the space of a single night (Picture: Tom Maddick / SWNS) Nottinghamshire Police said the vehicle-smashing rampage was ‘completely unacceptable’, with car owners taping cardboard boxes in makeshift repairs.
PC Chris Morgan said: ‘As many as 18 vehicles had their windscreens put through or their wing mirrors damaged during this incident.
‘It really should go without saying but this type of behaviour is completely unacceptable and not what we want to see in our communities at all.
‘We are still in the process of investigating this incident, so we’d ask anyone who has any information that could assist our inquiries to get in touch with us.’