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Dubbed the ‘World’s Toughest Row’, the challenge will see David Ferrier and team-mate Garry Hoyle row from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to English Harbour in Antigua in a specially designed rowing boat called Molly Moo.

The pair could face waves of up to 20ft high during the race, which will see them row 24 hours a day – two hours on, two hours off – as they battle against around 45 other teams to reach the finish line.

David and Garry will row across the ocean completely unsupported, eating dehydrated rations that they will rehydrate using filtered sea water and relying on solar power for any electronics.

Garry Hoyle (left) and David Ferrier who are taking on the World's Toughest Row in their boat, Molly Moo

There is no engine or sail – and there’s not even a toilet on board (just a bucket).

Under the team name Seas the Moment, the pair will set off on December 12 and aim to finish the challenge within 50 days with the hope of raising £25,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

David said: “I have followed this race for a number of years and it’s always been on my bucket list.

"I’m really looking forward to the tranquility, a simple way of life, the night skies and any wildlife sightings.

David Ferrier, who grew up in Cleveleys, is taking on a 3,000 mile row from La Gomera in the Canaries to Antigua

“We have been indulgent in buying a special Christmas Day wet ration of a turkey dinner!”

David, who was born and bred in Cleveleys and will turn 62 four days into the race, loves nothing more than a challenge having already swum across the English Channel and completed numerous marathons, triathlons, Ironman events, and the gruelling Three Peaks Yacht Race.

However, when he signed up to the rowing challenge, he was completely new to the rowing world.

David joined the Lakeland Rowing Club two years ago when he took part in their ‘Learn to Row’ course.

The pair could face waves of up to 20ft high during the race, which will see them row 24 hours a day – two hours on, two hours off

On the first day of the course people were asked ‘Why do you want to learn to row?’ to which David replied: "I have entered the World's Toughest Row – a 3,000 mile row from La Gomera in the Canaries to Antigua..."

But David, who now lives in Cumbria, has put his heart and soul into his training regime, which last year saw him win the 1.2 million metre indoor rowing challenge – the equivalent of rowing from St Louis to New Orleans on the Mississippi.

Garry, 60, who was born in North Shields and now lives in Whitley Bay, is a keen cyclist and has taken on all manner of endurance events, but he'd never actually rowed a boat until 2020.

His father sadly died aged 59, so Garry says celebrating his 60th birthday by rowing across the Atlantic is particularly poignant.

Garry Hoyle (left) and David Ferrier (right) with representatives from the Great North Air Ambulance Service

Around 45 teams from across the globe are taking part in the race, which will see each team rowing in excess of 1.5 million oar strokes.

David added: “Our choice of charity, The Great North Air Ambulance Service, plays a huge part in the preservation of life. For every £5k we raise there is a potential to save a life.”

To donate to David and Garry’s fund-raising efforts for the Great North Air Ambulance Service, visit https://www.seasthemoments.co.uk/the-race-copy

To follow their progress, visit https://www.facebook.com/SeasTheMoments2023 and https://www.instagram.com/seasthemoments2023/

Pair set to take on World’s Toughest Row as they race 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance Service