Press Release - Nottingham University (21st November 2005)

Toughest nautical challenge in the world

Alumni medics Becky Thorpe and Steph Temperton are about to embark on one of the biggest sporting adventures of their lives as they seek to cross the Atlantic in the world?s toughest rowing race.

The pair arrived in the Canary Islands on November 15 to make their final preparations for the race which begins at La Gomera on Sunday 27 November.

They will be up against professional oarsman James Cracknell and celebrity rower, the BBC One presenter Ben Fogle, alongside 25 other teams.

Although the race record is 40 days teams are expected to take an average of 55 days to complete the crossing. Becky and Steph will take turns to sleep, eat and row 24 hours day to keep their boat Marion moving forward at all times. They will survive on rations of desalinated water and ration pack food and sanitary arrangements will basically involve a small bucket.

As A&E doctors at the QMC in Nottingham and Derby Becky and Steph are used to long hours and hard work but they will need all their strength and stamina just to complete the race. At least they have the medical knowledge to treat other should either of them fall ill.

Any repetitive movement like rowing over such a long period of time causes soreness and with temperatures soaring many of the crews will put aside their clothes, mid-Atlantic, in order to take a more natural approach and row unfettered!

The potential dangers and the size of the challenge is not lost on the women ? conquering the Atlantic in a small boat remains a feat achieved by fewer people than have climbed Mount Everest, and by just 17 women.

The Nottingham pair has formed a winning partnership over several years. They were Commonwealth silver medalists in 2002 and British University Champions and part of the record-breaking 100,000m indoor rowing machine team.

They are still trained by international rowing coach and administrator and University of Nottingham assistant director of physical education Nigel Mayglothling.

They will be raising money for the Steve Redgrave Trust, a charity set up by the British rower, five-times Olympic gold medalist and honorary Nottingham graduate, that supports local youth projects throughout the country.

Becky and Steph underwent a rigorous training schedule earlier this summer completing a triple classic of grueling events, the Great River Race, the Boston Marathon and the Great Meander in their spare time.

During their feat they will also be rigorously tested before, during and after the race as part of scientific research into ultra-endurance sports by the University of Portsmouth.

Anyone who wants to sponsor Becky and Steph or help them in any way to achieve their feat should contact them via mail@makingwaves2005.org and you can follow their exploits on their website http://www.makingwaves2005.org

Press Release - Nottingham University (12th September 2005)

Atlantic pair chase Triple Classic record

University of Nottingham graduates Becky Thorpe and Steph Temperton are hoping to row their way into the record books when they embark on one of the sport's toughest challenges this weekend.

While many crews will take their pick from the Great River Race, the Boston Marathon or the Great Meander, the pair are hoping to become the first to attempt all three - and all in the space of under a week.

The challenge will be a rigorous way to warm up for their Atlantic rowing attempt in November and will also raise money for the Steve Redgrave Trust, a charity set up by the British rower, five-times Olympic gold medallist and honorary Nottingham graduate that supports local youth projects throughout the country.

As A&E doctors in Nottingham and Derby, Becky and Steph are no strangers to hard work and long hours - but they will need all their strength and stamina as their challenge kicks off on Saturday September 17 with the Great River Race, a 19-mile row down the Thames from Richmond to Greenwich.

No time for a post-race party, however, as the very next day they will race the 26 miles from Lincoln to Boston in Britain's longest rowing race, the Boston Marathon. After achieving the Ladies Pairs record last year, they are aiming to come in under four hours this time.

Three days later, the crew and their Atlantic boat Marion will arrive at Lechlade to start the Great Meander, the 186-mile Thames descent from Lechlade to Gravesend.

Crew coach and assistant director of Physical Recreation and Sport at The University of Nottingham Nigel Mayglothling said: "No-one has done this in an Atlantic boat before so some of the early locks and bridges may be a tad interesting.

"We have to start out from Lechlade in the dark at 4am on Thursday as we hope to catch the right tide down at Richmond, but we don't really know how fast Marion can go up on the narrow reaches so that may be problematic too."

The pair will be the first crew to complete the Triple Classic, the first to get an Atlantic Boat down the Thames and will be hoping to set a few more race-records along the way.

Nigel added: "Endurance rowing is largely a big-lads sport, so having two nine-stone lasses taking a pop at some of the 15-stone paddlers' records shows how determined they really are."

During their transatlantic challenge in November, Becky and Steph will be racing head-to-head against BBC-TV documentary pairing double-Olympic champion James Cracknell and TV presenter Ben Fogle.

As the race carried an entry cost of £60,000, Becky and Steph are currently on the look out for sponsors willing to help them cover their costs, meaning more of the funds raised will go straight to the Steve Redgrave Trust.

Article - Nottingham Evening Post (24th March 2005)

2,900-mile row 'over the pond'

Two Nottingham doctors are to brave the Atlantic in the world's toughest rowing race. Becky Thorpe, 25, and Steph Temperton, 26, have begun preparations for the 2,900 mile Atlantic Rowing Race in between shifts in accident and emergency.

Their coach Nigel Maygothling said: "Fewer people have completed this feat than have gone into space, that's how difficult it is. "People who are capable of a challenge such as this are few and far between."

The pair will face 20ft waves, storms and sharks - and hope to beat the women's world record time of 50 days and seven hours. "The idea is to row continuously throughout the day, one at a time," said Becky, who works at Derbyshire Royal Infirmary. "It will be two hours on and two hours off."

The two women met when started as undergraduates at the University of Nottingham in 1997. Before then, Steph had never been in a rowing boat. "I'm from the south coast originally," she said. "I used to be a sailor. I love water, I love being around it and on it. "But Nottingham wasn't a great place for sailing so I thought I'd give rowing a try and it's taken over my life."

Since then, the women have racked up plenty of competitive experience. Their achievements include the 31-mile Boston Rowing Marathon and the 22-mile Thames Great River Race, from Richmond to Greenwich. They also finished runners-up in the lightweight pairs at the British National Championships this year. And in 2002 they were Commonwealth silver medallists. But none of what has gone before can prepare them for the gruelling task ahead. "It's getting quite hard now," said Steph, who works shifts of 12 consecutive days in A & E at the Queen's Medical Centre. "I get really tired. I'm probably training five or six times a week and we're still searching for sponsors," she added.

The women, who share a house in Lenton, have begun paying the £14,700 entrance fee themselves. But they will need to raise £60,000 to compete in the race - some of which will be spent on refitting the ocean-going rowing boat they have borrowed. "There are times when it feels like it won't happen just because of the enormity of what we've taken on," said Steph. "But it's very do-able and we've got support from friends and family."

All being well, Becky and Steph's team, Making Waves 2005, will line up alongside 50 other competitors in the Canary Islands this November. "There's a fear of the unknown," said Becky. "The weather is so unpredictable and the area of the Atlantic that we're in has dangerous creatures but it's not a great concern. "There will be aspects that are breathtaking. We've spoken to people who have done it who tell us to take time to watch the beautiful sunsets."

For more information on the challenge visit www.makingwaves2005.org or to become a sponsor write to mail@makingwaves2005.org

Press Release - Nottingham University (28th September 2004)

University of Nottingham graduates tackle world’s toughest rowing race

Two University of Nottingham graduates have started their preparations for competing in a cross-Atlantic challenge that is considered to be the world’s toughest rowing race.

Becky Thorpe and Steph Temperton, who recently completed their medical training at the University and are now junior doctors working at Nottingham City Hospital, will be one of 50 teams from around the globe who will take part in The Atlantic Rowing Race 2005.

Setting off from the Canary Islands in November next year, the Nottingham pair will face a row of more than 2,900 miles across the Atlantic, carrying everything they need for nearly two months on the open sea in their small boat, finishing in Antigua in the Caribbean. They will be hoping to capture the female Atlantic doubles rowing record for Great Britain, which currently stands at 50 days and seven hours.

The challenge will also benefit a charitable trust founded by the five-time Olympic gold medal-winner and University of Nottingham honorary graduate Sir Steven Redgrave that aims to raise £5 million in five years for children’s charities.

Becky said: "After the governing body of rowing had decided to drop our chosen event (lightweight pairs) from international regattas, we wanted to find a new challenge. We found inspiration from reading the amazing story of Ellen MacArthur sailing around the world."

"The timing of the Woodvale Atlantic rowing race - which has now merged with the Ocean Rowing Society Atlantic Rowing Regatta to form The Atlantic Rowing Race 2005 - fitted in with taking a career break from medicine, and that was it, the decision was made," Steph added.

Becky and Steph will be rowing under the team name of Making Waves 2005 using their boat Marion, first used in the 1997 trans-Atlantic rowing race. They will be hoping for calmer seas than the boat’s original crew, who were hit by a severe storm just two days into the race and ended their voyage in hospital.

With the enormity of the challenge in mind, Becky and Steph’s mental and physical preparations for this rowing feat have already started in earnest. They recently completed the 31-mile Boston Rowing Marathon in just over four hours, finishing as the fastest women’s pair, 7th out of all the women’s boat categories and 72 overall out of more than 170 boats. Along with the boat’s previous crew, David Riches and Peter Haining, they were the fastest mixed boat over the 22-mile Great River Race from Richmond to Greenwich on September 11. The pair finished runners-up in the lightweight pairs at the British National Championships this year and were Commonwealth silver medallists in 2002.

Becky had previously competed in rowing events at school but Steph only took up the sport when she came to university at Nottingham, making her an entirely homegrown talent. They regularly train from the University boathouse on the River Trent and at the National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont and have been coached for the last six years by the University’s Assistant Director of Physical Recreation and Sport Nigel Maygothling.

Nigel said: "Fewer people have completed this feat than have gone into space, that’s how difficult it is. People who are capable of a challenge such as this are few and far between."

The whole venture will cost in the region of £60,000 and Becky and Steph are currently seeking local businesses and organizations that may be able to offer sponsorship for the challenge, which is likely to attract media coverage, given the interest in other recent high-profile rowing and sailing events.

Anyone interested in sponsoring the Making Waves 2005 team is asked to contact them by e-mail at mail@makingwaves2005.org and further details of the challenge are available on their website at www.makingwaves2005.org