Raising $100,000 for Australians living with Parkinson’s disease is the goal of a four-person team soon to embark on a rowing adventure across the Indian Ocean from Geraldton to Mauritius.
The total distance is approximately 3600 nautical miles (7,000 km’s) and will take around 70 days to complete.
Indi Row 23 is teaming up with Western Australia’s Perron Institute and the Brain Waves Foundation to support Parkinson’s disease research.
The team will also be diary logging during the crossing to help research into mental health and depression.
Skipper, Chris Cleghorn, is a former Royal Marine Commando and has spent most of his career in the Royal Marines in small boat operations globally. He previously rowed across the Atlantic Ocean with his brother in 2011 after learning that a close relative had Parkinson’s.
Allan Huntley, a former firefighter and now working as a plumber and heating engineer, rowed across the Atlantic in a team of four from Tyne rowing club competing in the 2018 Talisker Atlantic challenge.
Ben Mann, an experienced blue water yachtsman, is a rope access technician and carpenter by trade, skills that will come in handy on the row.
Ex-merchant seaman Steve Easter last travelled the Indian Ocean in the mid-1980s on the liner QE2. He served 21 years in the UK Fire Service and is giving up his current role as an aircraft refueller at London Stansted to fulfil his ambition of rowing across an ocean.
Their well-equipped 8.8 metre carbon fibre boat will be their home and sanctuary for the crossing as they maintain a gruelling two hours on, two hours off routine, rowing in pairs.
“The Perron Institute is delighted that Indi Row 23 has chosen to support our Parkinson’s research,” said Perron Institute CEO Steve Arnott.
“After dementia, Parkinson’s is the second most common neurological disease in Australia and this progressive neurodegenerative disorder presents huge challenges for those affected, as well as having enormous economic impacts.”
“We admire the courageous Indi Row 23 team members for embarking on their Indian Ocean endurance challenge to raise awareness and funding for Parkinson’s. We wish them well for a safe and successful crossing.”
To find out more or donate to the brave adventurers, visit: ior2023.com.