Islander in team of healthcare workers set to take on World's Toughest Row

ANOTHER Islander is set to take on the world’s toughest rowing race, following a world-record-breaking performance by a Jersey team last year.

Former Jersey College for Girls head girl Jenna Volpert has teamed up with two friends to take on the World’s Toughest Row – a notorious annual 3,000-mile challenge across the Atlantic Ocean.

Miss Volpert will row alongside Ellen Clark and Lauren Wilde-Arnold as part of a team named Saltire Tides.

The three healthcare workers, who met in Dundee, decided to take on the challenge to inspire others and push themselves out of their comfort zones.

All teams that take part in the row face 40 days on open ocean with 40-feet waves, unpredictable weather, sleep deprivation and salt sores.

Pictured: The 3,000 mile race starts in the Canary Islands and finishes in Antigua.

The Saltire Tides team will set off next December and row around the clock in shifts of between two and three hours.

With twelve month to go, the three women are currently focusing on their fitness, with strength training and indoor rowing.

They plan on starting training in open water in their specialist boat in the spring.

“We truly believe that with determination, anything is possible and that ordinary people can do extraordinary things,” the trio said.

Saltire Tides will be raising money for Scottish charity The Archie Foundation, which aims to improve healthcare and bereavement outcomes for children and families across the country.

If they successfully cross the finish line next year, Miss Volpert will join a growing list of people connected to the Island to have attempted the World’s Toughest Row.

Last year, the Intrepid 232 crew broke the record for the oldest female crew to cross any ocean during the event.

And Jersey-born passenger pilot Scott Dingle is also due to take part in the row next year as part of a three-man team called ‘The Coastal Commanders’, to honour his teammate’s battle with testicular cancer.

Saltire Tides remain on the lookout for sponsorship from local companies and individual donations to get them race ready. Donations can be made via their GoFundMe page .

Businesses interested in sponsoring the trio and having their logo travel across the Atlantic should get in touch with saltiretides@gmail.com.

More information about the team and the challenge can be found on their website www.saltiretides.co.uk.