Deep sea divers raise £24,000 for cancer charity with epic cross-Atlantic ocean rowing challenge

Chris Ayres, Andy Taw, Lewis Locke and James Piper - also known as ‘The Bubbleheads’ - are celebrating their completion of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

Andy and Chris are from Portsmouth, while James hails from Southampton and Lewis is from Scotland.

The team of deep sea saturation divers - who all work for Helix energy solutions - crossed the finish line on January 18, after a total of 37 days, 12 hours, and 45 minutes rowing across the ocean, starting in the Canary Islands and finishing in Antigua.

Chris said that the team placed fifth in their class and sixth overall out of a total of 38 teams.

Competing in a 25ft Rannoch R45 rowing boat, The Bubbleheads aimed to raise money for the Wessex Cancer Trust.

The charity had provided support to James and his family over the last six years as his late wife, Nikki, courageously battled a rare form of cancer before she sadly passed away on March 28, 2020.

So far, The Bubbleheads have raised an incredible £24,000.

Chris said: ‘It’s been pretty good, the campaign’s been going for about three years.

‘We really promoted it on social media, so we’ve had people from all over the globe donating. They’ve been very kind.’

The initial idea to enter the 2021 row came when three of the Bubbleheads witnessed the arrival of the 2018 winning boat on a trip to Antigua - and the team decided to take on the challenge to raise funds to help the charity.

While out in the ocean, The Bubbleheads had to row through huge waves and their boat nearly pitchpoled - although the team members said that they ‘didn’t have time to be scared’.

Chris said: ‘You didn’t have to be scared about it, but you had to have your wits about you.’

He added that the rowers burned around 10,000-12,000 calories a day and struggled to keep up with the calorie intake.

Chris said: ‘At the time, it’s really hard. It was relentless. From December 12 we left and we didn’t stop rowing until we got in, two hours on, two hours off.

‘I think our boats stopped for 20 minutes three times the whole time, so we could clean the bottom of the boat.’

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However, there were lots of ‘really good moments’ for the runners, including seeing whales and pods of dolphins.

A highlight for the rowers was the opportunity to see the ‘beautiful night skies’, with clear visibility of the Milky Way and shooting stars.

Chris said: ‘We had lots of really good moments but the best was coming in and seeing my family.

‘I’d been away from my family for eight weeks, and seeing their faces was really hard.’

Despite the challenges, Chris says he ‘feels great’ from completing the race - and is now looking forward to his next adventure.

He said: ‘Where it’d taken over my life over the last three years, now it’s done it’s left a big hole, so now I’m looking for the next challenge.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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