Celebrities Tweet their support for Yorkshire rowing mums
Messages of support for The Yorkshire Rows - who are bidding to become the oldest female team to row any ocean - have been received from well-known names including TV chef James Martin, Formula One’s David Coulthard and comedian and writer David Baddiel.
The group’s epic rowing challenge will benefit Maggie’s, which is bidding to build a centre for Yorkshire at Leeds St James’s Hospital, as well as the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
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Hide AdLandmark plans for the £5million Maggie’s Yorkshire, designed by the acclaimed Heatherwick Studio, were approved by Leeds City Council last year.
It could open to offer walk-in cancer support in 2017.
They set off on December 20 as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge and have battled a hurricane as well as being attacked by flying fish.
After nearly 50 days at sea, the team now have less than 800 nautical miles to go to the finish line in Antigua and, despite a number of setbacks, they remain in good spirits.
Helen Butters, who works for the NHS in Leeds, said: “We are basically just rowing, eating and sleeping.
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Hide Ad“It is really hard, and we are really missing our families, but we knew it was going to be tough.
“But there have also been some wonderful times, and we have had some great laughs.
“We were visited by a whale which stayed with us for two hours, and have rowed with a pod of 15 to 20 dolphins which was absolutely amazing.”