6 April 2005

Dunked, Ditched, Drenched and Doused – in the name of charity

Rowing the Atlantic’s a tough challenge in itself – but for two East Yorkshire men and their friends, who in 2006 hope to set a new record for the feat, the tough training starts now.

This Friday, Team Hesco’s Commando Joe will travel to the Nutec Centre in Teeside. One of the UK’s few facilities for incident training, the team will use the day to face up to the harsh reality of safety drills. Using a vast indoor tank, they’ll be dunked, ditched, drenched and doused in a series of tests to ensure that should the worst happen on the 2,800 mile Woodvale Ocean Fours Race, they’ll be well-prepared for every eventuality.

“With a challenge like this, safety has to come above everything else,” says Pete Rowlands, an Army Captain from Long Riston, Yorks, who’s masterminding the challenge to raise funds for the Meningitis Trust. “Our intention is to finish the crossing in less than 55 days, but we won’t be taking any shortcuts in order to achieve that, so it’s important that our training is top-notch.

“That includes undergoing capsize drills in the boat, and simulated winching from the water into a helicopter. We’ll also be practising general sea-survival skills.”

Captain Rowlands chose to support the Meningitis Trust following the death in 2003 of his 16-year-old son Gareth. Gareth, a keen sportsman who played for his county, was at boarding school when he contracted the disease.

“What the Trust did for me, my wife Helen and daughter Sian following Gareth’s death was nothing short of amazing,” recounts Capt Rowlands. “Sadly, it’s what they’re good at because meningitis continues to claim lives.

“Raising funds for them is a display of gratitude. Moreover, it will allow other families to benefit from their understanding of the disease.

“And through their disease awareness work it might even prevent another family experiencing the loss of a loved one,” Capt Rowlands points out.

Capt Rowlands will be joined in the Woodvale Ocean Fours Atlantic Challenge by three fellow Commandos: long-term friend and Long Riston neighbour Capt Mark Waterson; mine disposal expert Charlie Martell, of Gloucestershire, and Staff Sergeant Ben Fouracre, of Wiltshire. The ocean-going attempt is being sponsored by Hesco Bastion, a UK supplier of force protection equipment to military organisations worldwide.

The Atlantic Challenge will be the second of three ‘extreme challenges’ for Commando Joe, all in aid of the Meningitis Trust. Currently Charlie Martell is leading a three-man team across the High Arctic in an attempt to break the record for racing to the Magnetic North Pole and, in 2007, the team intends to set a new record for desert racing, in an as-yet unconfirmed location.

“We’re Army Commandos, trained to be the best,” says Capt Rowlands. “If anyone should be doing these challenges, it’s us.”

For more information about Commando Joe, or to make a donation, visit their website at www.commando-joe.co.uk.

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Notes to editors:
1. The training takes place at the Nutec Centre, Billingham, TS23 1PZ. The Nutec Centre for safety is the UK arm of the Global Safety Group, the world’s leading international risk management company offering safety, emergency and contingency expertise. The Group’s mission is to help industries and the public sector to prevent, manage and limit the consequences of undesirable incidents.

2. Hesco Bastion, Commando Joe’s sponsor, is the leading supplier of force protection to military organisations around the world.

3. Commando Joe is a six-strong team of former and serving British Army Commandos who will be undertaking three ‘extreme challenges’ in extreme environments between 2005 and 2007, raising funds for the Meningitis Trust.

• Currently, the team is competing in the 2005 Scott Dunn Polar Challenge, hoping to beat the 17-day record for racing to the Magnetic North Pole.
• Next year, as Team Hesco, they’ll attempt to break the 55-day record for rowing across the North Atlantic in the Woodvale Ocean Fours Atlantic Rowing Race.
• In 2007, the team intends to set a desert foot-racing record in an as-yet unspecified location

4. For more information, please contact ADRIAN BELL, Commando Joe’s campaign manager – 07976 866808 or adrian@commando-joe.co.uk, or PETE ROWLANDS on 07740 959429. Photography may be available following the event.