Bristol woman Gemma Best has finished ‘the world’s toughest row’ setting a new world record as the first UK woman to row across the Atlantic twice. The 42-year-old and two teammates, Kevin Watkins, 53 and Adam Siggs, 37, who are both from Portsmouth, completed the 3,000-mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
Leaving La Gomera, Tenerife on December 12 last year, it took 44 days, 11hrs and 39mins for the Gemma's team Raring To Row to reach their destination, Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua and Barbuda. They took on the tough ocean crossing to raise money for UK charity, Action Medical Research, which funds research to help children battling rare diseases.
Speaking from Antigua Gemma, who lives in Clevedon, said she was 13 years old when her two baby sisters, Jade, two years old and Jordan, two-and-a-half-month old both died from a rare neurodegenerative disorder. She said it was her drive to help children with rare medical conditions which kept her going forward during the hardest moments of the ocean journey.
