Yorkshire mums hit the halfway point on their gruelling Atlantic challenge

It could see them become the oldest all female crew to row across any ocean.

Published 21st Jan 2016

Four working mums from Yorkshire have now reached the halfway mark on their treacherous challenge to row across the Atlantic.

The team Yorkshire Rows are one of 26 teams currently taking part in the Atlantic challenge and it could see them become the oldest all female crew to row across any ocean.

The team – Janette Benaddi, Frances Davies, Niki Doeg and Helen Butters – are over 1,400 nautical miles into their journey, which takes them from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Janette’s husband Omar Benaddi said “They are getting on really well. They’ve had some issues with the power supply and some of the instruments so they have been struggling a bit, but they are all in very good spirit.”

They have battled through the formation of a rare Atlantic hurricane, been attacked by flying fishing as have suffered a series of minor injuries. Around three weeks in the quartet encountered Hurricane Alex and were forced to ride out the storm from the safety of their own cabins.

Omar added “We are all extremely proud of not only Janette, but also all the other rowers. It’s just a fantastic feat that they are achieving. It’s beyond what normal people do”

“We’ve missed them tremendously but it’s a challenge they wanted to do so we must support them and be really glad to see them when they are back on land”

“Despite all the pain and heartache they are going through it’s still a fantastic adventure. It’s obviously different living it, but I’m sure when they return they will look back and realise that it’s one of those once in a lifetime scenarios.”

Omar believes that judging by their progress; the team will finish the challenge in approximately 4 weeks.