ROWING: RUNCORN'S intrepid rowing duo, Jason Mckinlay and Phil Carrington, are still on course for a fourth-place finish in their gruelling voyage across the Atlantic.

They are leading the chasing pack after the first three boats crossed the line in Barbados last week.

Holiday Shoppe's victory was nearly scuppered when their boat capsized 80 miles from the finish, but they still managed to beat the previous record by more than a day with a time of 40 days, five hours and 31 minutes.

Now Jason and Phil, who only took up rowing a year ago, are on target to come in fourth next week.

And once they're on dry land, the two lads will have only one thing on their minds - a good feed.

Team spokeswoman Vanessa Morson told the Weekly News: 'Their spirits are still great. Their water maker, though giving them a hard time, has started to perform a bit better, producing 15 litres a day, instead of the prior stingy five.

'Let's hope it is enough to get them home safely. Who knows when they will arrive - they have under 400 miles left, but when they finish is anyone's guess.

'They are so excited about the prospect of getting home and already have their grocery list written out - supermarkets be warned. It will be the largest shop they will ever see. We will have to recruit people to help push the trolleys.'

Race runners-up Team CRC also smashed the previous record and Team Rowing Home, who finished third, were the first Barbados team to enter the event. They landed back on home soil in time to take part in the island's independence day celebrations.