ROWING: DARING rowers Jason Mckinlay and Phil Carrington have successfully set sail on their gruelling voyage across the Atlantic.

The Runcorn duo set off from the Canary Islands on Sunday in their bid to smash the world record of 44 days to make the trip to Barbados - despite both having little more than 12 months of rowing experience!

Already Jason and Phil have accomplished a feat which proved impossible for other would-be competitors - out of the 30 boats entered in the Atlantic Rowing challenge, just 16 actually made it to the starting line, highlighting the physically and financially draining preparations.

Having entered the race in the hope of raising thousands of pounds in sponsorship for chosen charity Macmillan Cancer Relief, the Runcorn team had to come up with £60,000 to earn their place in the starting line-up and are now hoping to make the most of it by staking claim to a place in the record books.

Their attempt has been boosted by excellent sailing conditions from the outset, with clear blue skies and the wind blowing in the right direction. Now the pair must hope their pre-race planning will pay off, as each competitor has chosen their own preferred route, which could make or break the chances of victory.

The treacherous challenge will see Jason and Phil row across shark-infested waters through extreme weather conditions in a basic boat which they had to assemble from a flat-pack kit.

And the challenge so far hasn't been all plain sailing - especially when they arrived in Lanzarote from their final trip back home to find their vital navigation equipment had been stolen.

Sponsors Garmin sent out a replacement straight away - but it didn't arrive in time to be delivered by a visiting family.

A second attempt to get the kit to team spokeswoman Vanessa Morson was also doomed to failure.

On top of everything, their 90-day supply of food was delayed in customs, leaving Jason and Phil with no option but to head to LaGomera without food, water or equipment!

However, sportsmanship prevailed, and on arrival the lads were helped out by their fellow contestants to make sure they had everything they needed to continue - even the Royal Navy chipped in, providing food and power drinks.

Now supporters are invited to follow the intrepid duo's progress as they make the exhausting journey to Barbados by logging onto their website: www.sport4charity.org

Donations in aid of Macmillan are also still being collected and can be given online.