Monday 16 January 2012
Victory for Box Number 8!
Photo: Toby and Nick from Box Number 8 row to the finish line. Credit: Brian FinkeShelterBox supporters, Box Number 8, have won the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge and raised over £36,000 for ShelterBox disaster relief.
The rowers – Nick Moore and Toby Iles - and their boat ‘Box Number 8’ completed the race in 40 days, nine hours and 15 minutes closely missing out on the world record. The boat was named after ShelterBox and the number '8', which is lucky in Singapore where Nick works.
The Atlantic Challenge spans almost three thousand miles and can take up to 80 days before the crews reach the final destination of Barbados. It is known as the world’s toughest rowing race. The crews are completely unassisted and have to carry all supplies on board. 17 crews set off on 6 December 2011 and six crews were forced to drop out due to bad weather.
Two of the successful crews, Box Number 8 and the Spirit of Corinth, are fundraising on behalf of ShelterBox.
The Spirit of Corinth, a crew from Devon, are the oldest crew to compete. They are currently in sixth place.
Tom Henderson OBE, Founder and CEO of ShelterBox said: ‘ShelterBox is so proud of Nick and Toby's win and the outstanding effort displayed by both crews supporting our work. We were delighted when Toby visited ShelterBox's headquarters in Cornwall back in January 2010 to find out more about our work delivering disaster relief and they subsequently named their boat Box Number 8 in recognition of ShelterBox.
‘While Box Number 8 and the Spirit of Corinth spent Christmas at sea, our ShelterBox Response Team was delivering aid in response to the recent flooding in the Philippines. Their outstanding efforts have raised funds that will improve the lives of hundreds of families affected by disasters around the world.’
Watch the moment the winning team reached dry land here.
