Veteran crew takes marathon rowing challenge in hand-built boat

A team of eight veteran rowers is attempting an open-sea crossing from the south of Scotland to the Isle of Man and back in a single day.

Members of the Wigtown Bay Coastal Rowing Club (WBCRC) - all at least in their 40s - hope to complete the round trip from the Isle of Whithorn in their hand-built boat, Ninian.

An initial departure planned for March and another earlier this month had to be postponed because of poor weather conditions for the 26-mile (42km) each-way challenge.

The team now plans to set off on Saturday in its bid to raise funds and the profile of the rowing club.

The journey is one of the longest and most challenging the club has undertaken [BBC]

John McGuire, WBCRC chairman, has more than 30 years of experience at sea in the area and said the variability of the Scottish climate had been an issue for training.

"The weather's been up and down so much," he said.

"You can look at it one day and it says one thing, then the next day it says something completely different."

Despite the conditions, he said the team had not been discouraged.

The route will take the crew across about 26 miles each way [Wigtown Coastal Rowing Club]

"They've been rowing in some pretty horrific conditions, higher winds than they'll encounter on the crossing, and we've slowly been increasing the distance and the time in the boat," he said.

"Other clubs were cancelling sessions, but they were still out in the wind, hail and rain.

"You've really got to take your hat off to them for the commitment they've shown."

He said they hoped the effort could encourage others to give it a try as well as raise much-needed funds.