'I want to inspire' - The Yorkshire businesswoman on a mission to become oldest woman row across the Atlantic

She’s 60 next summer but before then she wants to become the oldest woman to complete a solo row of the Atlantic.

She has bought her craft and is in training for the mission which will take between 60 and 70 days and which has been billed as the world’s toughest row.

But she needs to raise money quickly – and is particularly targeting corporate backers. She has to collect £45,000 by the end of November.

Businesswoman Mrs Barclay, a mother of two daughters from Bentham in North Yorkshire, said she wants to show what women of a certain age can achieve and says she was inspired by the famous Yorkshire Rows team of mothers who rowed the Atlantic in 2016.

“I have been signed up for three years and have done some coastal rowing,” she said. “I have also rowed on Coniston and Windemere and I am working on my fitness.”

Her 3,000-mile trek will go from La Gomera in The Canaries to English Harbour in Antigua. The aim is to break a record that has stood for almost 25 years and be the oldest woman to do this solo at 59.

Less than 30 women have rowed the Atlantic solo and she will use the challenge to raise money for menopause charities in the UK. Mrs Barclay, originally from Settle, said: “I want to inspire menopausal women to go beyond what they think is possible and be more of who they really are.”

She wants to raise funds for the British Menopause Society and Menopause Café, a national network.

She says only about 30 women have rowed the Atlantic solo and she realises it will be a challenge, both mentally and physically. But she will have three satellite phones with her and will have a daily check-in with a safety crew. And although she will be in isolation she will be able to chat to people back home.

She said: “I believe in inspiring women, especially those experiencing menopause, by being a gate-opener and doing something that others haven’t done thus far.

“Watching womankind do incredible things and stand up and be counted is what has inspired me in the past.

“In rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic solo, my hope is to inspire women to defy stereotypes and limiting beliefs, go beyond what was thought was possible for them and be more of who they really are.

“In 2016, I was inspired by four middle-aged women from York, the Yorkshire Rows, who became the oldest female team to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic unassisted in the World’s Toughest Row. My thought at the time was, ‘If they can do that, so can I – I know I can do that.”

“Various charities including the British Menopause Society and the Menopause Cafe help to support women with evidence-based information, accredited training for medical professionals, support with introducing menopause policies within businesses and, regardless of who you are, young or old, male or female, a safe space to talk, share experiences and not feel alone.

Mrs Barclay also runs her own business BeehemianWrapzody, making and selling handmade food wraps from beeswax.

Visit her GoFundMe page; Her website for the row is www.mumentous.com. Her Instagram is www.instsgram.cim/mumentous.atlantic.row.