2:00pm Saturday 12th September 2009
By David Connop Price
IT’S not every day that you see an ocean-going rowing boat in Basingstoke town centre!
Daring 27-year-old oarsman James Ketchell, who plans to row single-handed across the Atlantic, attracted plenty of attention when he took his small craft into Festival Square as part of his fundraising efforts for the NSPCC.
As previously reported in The Gazette, his 3,000-mile journey, due to start in December, will take him from the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean.
James, of Severn Way, Eastrop, said: “I have had a really good response. Everyone has said ‘you’re a maniac’ and ‘you’re crazy’ but they have said they like what I am doing and have wished me the best of luck.
“Not many people have seen an ocean-going rowing boat and when you show them one and a map of where you’re going, they look at you like you are a lunatic.”
The former Harriet Costello School pupil wants to inspire young teenagers and raise money for less fortunate children.
“I want to be able to prove to normal kids that you can achieve extraordinary things if you put your mind to it,” he said.
James’ dream of rowing the Atlantic was nearly wrecked two years ago when a motorcycle accident left him with a smashed ankle that doctors thought would leave him unable to walk properly.
However, the account manager for Avnet Technology Solutions has recovered and he has spent the past two years planning and preparing for his ambitious ocean crossing.
His boat – called Speedo – is ready and he has now stepped up the physical training for the challenge ahead.
James said: “The hardest part of any ocean row is getting to the start line, so if you have got to the start line you’re a winner of sorts.”
To sponsor James, visit atlanticadventurer.com.
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