The Marathon started at 18:15 hours, at the Stratford-based Tesco Store, as David was the first to start this gruelling challenge over the next day. Steve and David both did one hour on/off as they took their first taste of what could be the routine for their ultimate challange to cross the Indian Ocean in 2009…

As the time went on in the small hours of the morning, change-overs were smooth but you could really see the stern faces, as they battled the mind to fight through the feeling of sleeplessness and burning muscles. Not to mention having to shower, eat and sleep in the 45 minute break, before coming back to take over for their alternate sessions.

Many customers stopped and chatted to the rowers, wishing them well, and thankful they weren’t doing it! But in the last few hours of the Saturday afternoon, the end was approaching for David, as he finished his final hour….knowing that Steve still had the final lap to go to finish, what the Team hope to be a new World Record.

Tesco Staff cheered, as both David and Steve finished their final hours….Both feeling relief that the goal had been achieved to row for the 24 hour stretch.

Both David and Steve thank their sponsors for financially supporting the event, along with donating customers, and all friends and family that came in to cheer-on, bucket shake, and scrutineering duties, to ensure the event was a success!! Special thanks go out to Tesco staff members for the time taken to organise the shop floor space required, and the moral support given while the Team were put through their paces!

Eddie commented on ‘the Team’s need to find out their current fitness level’ and hence the importance to ’seek advice on how to tackle the 24 hours.’ Both Dave and Steve have been sent a report composed by Eddie from the results of the testing. They have devised a fitness plan from the advice given to them, and considering time is very short, they will need to be at their very best endurance wise. David said ‘hopefully, now that we know where we are in the scale of things, we can build ourselves up ready for the 24 hr ergo-challenge, and still be able to stand at the end of it!’

Light-hearted comments, but a very serious task ahead…Keep up to date with this planned event by visiting the ‘Events’ page on the Team website, www.teamdevOcean.co.uk

Also see the news section at www.fletchersportscience.co.uk

Team devOcean have chosen to compete in one of the world’s toughest races, the first ever Indian Ocean Rowing Race set for 2009.

The target is to raise £300,000 for their two chosen charities, NCH and Baraq Ministries. More information regarding the charities can be found on the charity pages

Keep up to date with the events the team have planned, with a chance to meet them! The events can be tracked on the events page.

Race Information:Start: West Coast Australia
Finish: Mauritius
Duration: Approx 50 - 80 Days
Distance: 3100 nautical miles (Approx 3500 miles)
Departure Date: April 2009

Any ocean row is difficult. More people have climbed Mount Everest or been into space than have successfully completed an ocean row. There have only been 3 successful rows across the Indian Ocean, which makes the challenge a little bit more special.

Already the training and preparations have started. It may seem like a long way ahead, but since the team made the decision to race, 12 months have already flown past.

The race is run by Woodvale Events who have organised and staged a number of previous races, including the most publicised crossing of the Atlantic, by Ben Fogle and James Cracknell.

Subscribe to our updates email

James Cracknell OBE

“Exhausting, exhilarating, emotional; there are a lot of words that I can use to sum up the experience, but unless you go through it yourself, you can never truly understand what it is like. Dave and Steve are in for the time of their lives - crossing that finishing line is one of the best feelings you can ever experience. “As a father I really admire the work of children’s charities like NCH There are thousands of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people out there in need of support. I’ve no doubt that the money Dave and Steve raise will make a real difference to the lives of youngsters who need help the most. “

Ben Fogle

“They are in for the adventure of their lives - there really is no experience like it. Emotions run high and you can be low one minute and then elated the next. Physically it is exhausting, you have to row 24 hours a day in alternate shifts, so sleep deprivation is a major factor. The best piece of advice I would give Dave and Steve is be prepared! Anything can happen, especially when you least expect it.I really do wish them both all the very best of luck and will be looking out to see how they are getting on. They’re working towards a fantastic achievement, both for themselves and for the thousands of vulnerable children and young people who will benefit from the money raised for NCH.”

Kirsty Gallacher

“Wishing you all the best on your journey - What a great adventure! Hoping you raise lots of money for NCH.Best Wishes, Kirsty Gallacher.”

Iwan Thomas MBE

“I take my hat off to these two - I like a challenge myself and this is probably one of the biggest ones you can get. What a claim to fame to say that you are amongst just a handful of people who have ever rowed across the Indian Ocean. It’s going to be an experience of a lifetime!I hope everyone gets behind them as they take on this massive challenge - and they raise lots of money for NCH, the children’s charity. Good luck boys!”

Great day for David and Steve yesterday, in their bid to raise awareness of the Team and it’s ultimate goal and challenge of their Ocean Race. They had borrowed an ocean row boat from event organisers Woodvale Events, to capture peoples attention, and were on hand to answer questions and give out literature.

The Team were there all day, through to early evening, and had spoken to many people interested in sponsoring their efforts. They also gave a fun demonstration of how difficult maneuvering around the boat would be, by practicing getting in and out of the 6 by 3 sleeping cabin!

Team devOcean would like to thank all those that visited them at BrindleyPlace for their launch day. They had great fun, and even ‘Cedric’ the NCH dragon came along to join in the fun! “It was good to see you all there despite the showers of rain we had!” Dave said on behalf of the Team.

This event is the first of many, which the Team are organising to help with their fundraising efforts for the charities concerned.

The annual event held at Evesham Rowing Club, can be a tough event for everyone, trying to achieve the best time to row against others for a distance of 1 mile.

The Team’s boat was on show, and attracted a number of people to stop and ask questions. The Observer Newspapers were there also, for a photo shoot ready for the Team’s press release.

David was in the last heat of the day, aptly called ‘The Clash of the Titans’ by the commentator, but it did not deter David from giving his all. Steve Redgewell, fellow Team member, coached David through the race, which saw him keep third place for the first third of the overall distance. He came up against some tough competition though, with the some of the fastest men on the circuit. He finished with a respectable time of 5 minutes 20.5 seconds, smashing his personal best from last year of 5 mins 53 secs! Truly an amazing time, even by Steve’s standards!

BBC Hereford and Worcester 13th August 2007, Redditch, Worcestershire.

Dave and Steve were interviewed on the Breakfast Show hosted by Howard Bentham today. They had an opportunity to update listeners with their progress. The team managed to give an update on their forthcoming fundraising event, their 24 hr marathon row. The event scheduled to start at 18:00 hours on Friday 7th September 2007, will take place at the Stratford Branch of Tesco Stores Ltd.

Please come along, and show your support for the team, as they battle to complete their staggering 24 hour row, and still be standing (hopefully) by the end of it!

BBC WM 17th July 2007 7.50am BrindleyPlace, Birmingham.

Tune in to ‘Phil Upton at Breakfast’ [95.6 FM] from 7am! The Team have their launch day at BrindleyPlace, Birmingham….and will be interviewed in the morning prior to them setting up for the day. So have a listen to keep upto date with their progress!

BBC Hereford and Worcester 11th July 2007, Redditch, Worcestershire.

Dave and Steve were interviewed today, to start publicising this amazing adventure! Interviewed by Lizzy Lane on the Breakfast Show presented by Howard Bentham, the team have had their first opportunity to advertise themselves. Great fun all round, when Ethan, David’s eldest, wanted to make himself heard too!

PRESS ARTICLES…. The team so far, have had great press coverage with various newspapers getting involved from Observer newspapers to Birmingham mail…

Speacial Thanks, first and foremost goes to the Team’s photographer David Baldelli, who have supported the Team in taking and providing initial snapshots of the duo!

Eddie Fletcher, Fletcher Sport Science for supporting the Team with fitness and training advice.

Tyre Bay Direct Ltd, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Cue Media Ltd, Aston, Birmingham.

Midland Autolease Ltd, Knowle, Solihull.

Dave Smith

The charity is also looking to then provide and support a community center and a school, both of which will be ‘The John Johnson Center’. Dedicated in loving memory, of a much loved friend and co-worker of the charity, John Johnson.

Adrian Guest who heads the charity, tells his story:

Hi, my name is Adrian Guest and I want to explain a little about…

HOW IT ALL BEGAN…

In 1989, I watched the International news on the T.V. as we saw the historic fall of communism and the horrors that where left behind from this evil regime. Especially the children in Romania! Living in state run homes, they were used like cattle just bred to be slave labour in factories when they were old enough.

The conditions of the homes was barbaric, children tied to their beds, in dark rooms and left to lie in their own urine and mess for weeks on end.

One group of children had a deformity. The backs of their heads where completely flat! This was due to the fact that they where left tied to their beds for so long that their little heads had ‘grown’ flat.

I knew I had to do something but what?

I was one person with a desire to help but no finance to do anything! So I borrowed two transit vans, went to Tesco, ASDA, anybody that would donate anything, to take to these children.

Myself and a couple of friends set out to Romania. We had to travel through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary and into Romania.

We had no idea of procedures and each border had its own problems, eventually, one week and 2,000 miles later we reached Romania. No knowledge of the language and no idea where these children’s homes where.

By the second week we where well into Romania and decided to camp and rest by a lake area called Cinz Cinz. One of the locals who could speak a little English asked why we were there, we explained and then Contessa introduced me to her brother Valentine. He spoke exceptional English and from that moment we became close friends.

We could not have done what we have done over the 14 years without the love and friendship of Contessa, Vali and his wife Anka.

So they took us to our first children’s home! I can’t describe the horrors that I saw. It is beyond belief at times how evil man can be to their fellow man. But we stayed with them for two weeks and gave them the donations and started to make a small difference to at least one group of kids.

One three year old boy called Michael clung to me for two weeks till it was time to say goodbye. With tears he begged me to take him back to England. Vali explained that it was impossible for me to take him with us, but I promised to go back. At this Michael cried even more. I asked Vali, “ Why is he crying, I had promised that I would return?” He explained that Michael had had so many promises, that when people gave their word to do something, it meant to him, that it would never happen.

So I said to Vali to tell him – “it is not just a possibility. I would return”. I was sure I would. The first English words that Michael learnt were, ‘do you promise, no possibility, are you sure?’ I said ‘I am sure’.

When I got home I started immediately making plans for the next trip, to make it bigger and better. It costs thousands of pounds for each trip, plus hunting around for donations. It is a lot of hard work and we meet problem after problem each time. People say why do you keep going back and my answer is, “because I promised a little three year old lad I would!”

We have been going for 14 years, two or three times a year and have touched many thousands of lives over the years.

But I met a different type of ‘Michael’ that is not catered for. These are the gypsy children, put out on the streets to beg. Their parents maim their own children! They will sever an arm or a leg so they get more sympathy when they are begging and all they have to look forward to is an early death, because there is nothing for them.

We have now got Official permission from the Romanian Government to take these children off the streets. They have given us our own land in Romania, which brings us to our next project…

We want to build our own children’s homes to care for these children. We still intend to keep supplying the homes that we have for the past 14 years. Plus build our, ‘first-of-many’ homes, that we will have full charge of. A place where people can adopt a child over here, through sponsorship, and go over and stay with the child they saved from the street, to become a part of their life and their progress.

Your prayers, help, and donations of money is needed to see our first home ‘The House of Rahab’ to become a reality.

Senior Pastor, Adrian Guest. Founder of Baraq Ministries Charity number:

The challenge has been targetted by the two, whose main aim is to raise a target of £300,000 for charity. They will be rowing for between 55 and 80 days across a stretch of sea 3500 miles in distance, taking them on an epic voyage of highs and lows from Western Australia, to the finish in Mauritius.

“It was the February of 2006,” David said, “when Steve came and quizzed me about wanting to get fit, and of course being my inquisitive self, finally prized it out of him that he wanted me to enter a rowing race….and by the way had he mentioned it was across the Indian Ocean?!!! Without thinking, I immediately said ‘yes’, being the sort of guy that I am! And the rest is now history….”

Steve, a Rowing Coach from Evesham, decided to set himself a ‘worthwhile task’ and managed to get David on board while his wife was in hospital having their second child! She was obviously in no position to object, since the question had already been answered!

Steve said “I have always fancied doing something different…I would climb Mount Everest or trek to the North Pole if it wasn’t so cold! But, I guess I’ve wanted to do something similar to this before James Cracknell and Ben Fogle did the Atlantic row in 2005. Seeing them achieve their row, only deepened the desire to step out and do something worth while, so it prompted me to look into the Indian Ocean Rowing race set for 2009.”

So, with this amazing adventure now set, follow their progress, tears and sweat, by keeping in touch with the team at www.teamdevOcean.co.uk