Ocean Signal Sponsor Rowers on Altantic Record Attempt

With the reassurance of their Ocean Signal products on-board, two young rowers have started an unsupported Atlantic crossing to raise money for charity.

Tom Rainey and Lawrence Walters, who replaced Sam Coombs less than a month before the departure date due to a back injury, left Lower Manhattan, New York in their ocean rowing boat Yves on Sunday, May 3.

The 23 year olds are bidding to become the youngest pair to make the crossing from the US to the UK and will also try to break the 55-day two-man speed record.

The support of UK safety and communications specialist Ocean Signal is vital for Tom and Lawrence as they row one of the world’s most treacherous ocean routes.

They are equipped with an Ocean Signal SafeSea® EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Response Beacon), two Ocean Signal rescueME PLB1s (Personal Locator Beacons) and an Ocean Signal SafeSea V100 emergency VHF, meaning the duo have all the necessary devices, for both themselves and the boat, to be able to alert the rescue services quickly and transmit their location in the event of an emergency.

Expecting to cover around 3,800 miles before reaching Salcombe, Devon, the duo are aiming to raise £250,000 for The Brain Tumour Charity, inspired by the loss of Tom’s father, Luke, due to a brain tumour in 2012.

Tom, from Salcombe, and Lawrence, who is from Lymington and now lives in Bristol, will spend at least eight weeks in Yves, which is just 23 feet long and six feet wide. They have no support yacht and are carrying all of the freeze-dried food and supplies they need for the journey. They will row in two-hour shifts and burn up to about 8000 calories each per day.

Regular updates are available at www.oceanvalour.co.uk and on Twitter @OV2015.

Safety and communication products from Ocean Signal offer exceptional value, meeting or exceeding international technical and safety standards. Careful design and innovation provides commercial shipping, fishing and recreational users the confidence that their Ocean Signal equipment will work to, and beyond, their expectations when it is needed most.