Irish ex-addict in world’s toughest rowing race - the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge

A seasick entrepreneur, a former heroin addict, and a mother of two are among the competitors of an epic endurance challenge, said to be the world’s toughest rowing race.

Twenty-nine athletes — including 18 from the UK and Ireland — set off under cloudless blue skies from La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, yesterday, bound for Antigua, in the Caribbean.

The crews are all raising money for charity. They are rowing the 3,000 miles (4,828km) of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, battling extreme fatigue, sleep-deprivation, and crushing waves.