Taylor Winyard, a Peebles High School former pupil, is gearing up to row across the Atlantic Ocean in December.
Winyard will take on one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges alongside Tom Rose, James Woolley and Euan Fraser as part of the Atlantic Nomads team.
The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge sees rowers from across the globe attempt to row 3000 miles unsupported from San Sebastian in the Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua.
Taylor and her crew will endure sleep deprivation, sea sickness, huge calorie deficits, hallucinations, salt sores and 40ft waves as they navigate their way across one of the busiest shipping zones in the world. Expected to take between 35 to 45 days, the team are aiming to row in pairs, 2 hours on, 2 hours off around the clock for the duration of the crossing.
They will be pushing themselves to their mental and physical limits all to raise much needed awareness and funds for their chosen charity, Alabaré’s Homes for Veterans, who provide supported accommodation to British Armed Forces Veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
No stranger to putting her body through its paces, Taylor says, “In 2019, after stepping away from sprint-kayaking, I set off up Mount Kilimanjaro in search of a new challenge.
“After a successful summit experience and some would say a quarter-life crisis; it left me striving for something bigger. I hope to test myself to see how far I can push my body, both mentally and physically, in a race like no other. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The challenge itself is the culmination of meticulous planning, preparation, education, fundraising and training. In their preparations for the feat, the Atlantic Nomads are set to undertake a training row along the West Coast of Scotland in August. The team and ‘Doris’, their 28ft ocean rowing boat, will also be attending Stobo Castle Ladies Day at Musselburgh Racecourse on 20 August.
For more information about the team and the challenge visit www.atlanticnomads.co.uk or follow @atlanticnomads on Instagram.
