Midlands farmers prepare to row the Atlantic for charity

When it comes to having a mid-life crisis, most people opt to join a gym or buy a Harley Davidson.

Not so for Midlands farmers Rod Adlington and Guy Minshull – they get drunk at a rugby international and decide to row across the Atlantic.

See also: Farmer’s daughter sets record with charity Atlantic crossing

“Despite being born in Coventry, I’ve always loved sailing and the sea, and I’ve always wanted to do something really big,” says Rod, 57, whose day job is growing seasonal turkeys and running a free-range chicken business.

“I’ve not been properly fit for many years, so wanted to do something about that too, and now that my children are less dependent, what better time to fulfil that dream?”

Arable farmer Guy, 53, also admits to a sense of “grabbing the opportunity while you still can”.

“I used to be a keen rugby player, but that has slipped in recent times, and I too wanted to get in shape again,” he says.

“A group of us went to see the Ireland-England game in Dublin in March and Rod was talking about the row across the Atlantic. After about six pints of Guinness, it seemed like a good idea…”

Putting the plan into practice was the next step – and finding the right boat the first real challenge.

“There are not too many boats available – even for second-hand equipment,” says Rod. “With the popularity of ocean rowing growing, boats are often sold two or three years in advance of a particular crossing.”

A lucky break through a contact on LinkedIn one evening was what it took to find a suitable vessel – Mrs Nelson – a 28-footer with three rowing positions, a small forward cabin and an even smaller aft cabin, which was secured for £40,000.

All that was needed now were two additional crew members and a suitable event to join in the fun.

The first of these came via an internet search in the form of Alex Perry, a serving paratrooper, and Ryan Davin, an Irish fitness fanatic with a number of mad-cap, physical challenges under his belt.

And the event? The Atlantic Dash – a brand new six-week race to Antigua, setting off from Lanzarote in early January 2024.

The training

Training kicked off early, in April – with 3,000 miles of Atlantic ocean ahead of them, there was no time to waste.

“We have no rowing experience, so the first thing was to buy a couple of rowing machines,” says Rod. “These have formed the basis of our fitness training, accounting for two hours a day, five times a week.

“We are also hitting the weights, which we do three times a week with a weight training coach, and we are adding in a bit of cycling.”

But while gym-work can help with basic fitness, it is no replacement for the real thing, and the crew have been grabbing whatever opportunities they can to gain experience out on the water.

They have also employed the services of a professional rowing coach, Gus Barton, who has completed four Atlantic crossings and is able to advise on technique as well as fitness.

Their most recent outing, from Christchurch Harbour in Dorset to the Isle of Wight, Poole Harbour and back again, saw them cover 76 miles in 24 hours, rowing through the night in mercifully calm conditions.

“The trick is to row at a pace that keeps the heart rate ticking over at between 90 and 120 beats a minute,” says Rod.

“At that pace we will be burning off fat rather than muscle. It’s all about longevity and making our food supplies last. Push too hard and it will only be a few weeks before you break.”

The farming

Fitting in training with running two farming businesses has been a challenge during a typically busy summer.

Rod is a third-generation turkey producer based in Balsall Common, in Warwickshire, where he rears about 10,000 white and bronze birds each season, kept in large, spacious barns, with feed and bedding sourced from local producers.

The birds are slaughtered, hung and processed at Adlington’s own factory each December, ready for distribution to online customers and local butchers, as well as farmgate sales.

The other strand to the business is the free-range chicken enterprise, with Hubbard 787 birds reared under contract in Kent, and returned to Adlington’s for further processing, including cooking and smoking, under the English Label brand.

“We bought what was then the ‘Label Anglais’ farming and distribution business in 2016 – which had been set up to mimic the ‘Label Rouge’ poultry brand in France,” says Rod.

“We have kept the high-welfare principles, but changed the name and are now producing 200,000 birds a year – mostly sold as fresh, whole birds to catering butchers, but also ending up in top-end retail outlets like Harrods and Harvey Nichols.”

Arable farming

Guy’s background is a little different, as a mainly arable farmer based in Kenilworth, also in Warwickshire.

“We currently farm about 570 acres, across five units, though this has gone down by around 60 acres because of the delight that is HS2,” he says. “Some of the land is owned and some is on a contract farming agreement.”

The arable ground is currently run on a four-year rotation – two years of winter wheat, one year barley and one year beans.

“I do all the work myself, except at harvest, when my daughters chip in with a bit of grain carting,” says Guy, who also owns a wellington boot business, Gumleaf Boots.

The trans-Atlantic row in January works well for both men. For arable farmer Guy, winter time is relatively quiet anyway, and for turkey farmer Rod, the Christmas rush will be over.

“Most trans-Atlantic events, such as the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, happen in December, which is a no-no for me,” says Rod. “But the Atlantic Dash in January fits in well with the farming calendar.”

The fear factor

Being away from the farm for so long is a bit of a concern – but there will be bigger things to worry about once they cast off in January and point the boat west.

Crippling sea sickness and severe blisters rank fairly high among the things that could go wrong, as do potential attacks by orcas or marlin, which have been known to puncture a boat.

But for Rod, the greatest fear is the rogue wave, “that standing 60ft wall of water that comes out of nowhere and can flip a boat over, end to end”.

That prospect was brought into sharp focus on a recent training outing in the Irish Sea.

“It was settled enough when we set off, but as darkness fell, the wind got up and the swell grew to three or four metres.

“It was hard to keep rowing. It was the first time I have ever heard waves actually roar.”

Guy too is wary of the power of the sea, but is also concerned about the physical toll. “My worry is if the body doesn’t hold up, three or four weeks in, and you start to let your team mates down.”

And what are they looking forward to? “Just being out there, seeing the vastness of the ocean, surrounded by nature, the simplicity of it all, while fulfilling a personal challenge,” says Rod.

“It’s the finish line for me, and that rum cocktail when we get to Antigua,” says Guy. “That, and the sense of achievement, something to look back on in later life.”

Charity fundraising

The real reason for rowing across the Atlantic is to raise money for charity – in memory of Rod’s son Barney who would have been 21 this year, but whose life was tragically taken away by meningitis when he was just three years old.

“It was on Saturday 19 March 2005 that Barney first complained of a headache,” Rod recalls.

“Less than 24 hours later, and despite the undivided attention of the best medical teams, he had died from meningitis.”

Since then, Rod and his wife Anna have taken on a number of challenges and events to raise considerable sums for relevant charities – including sporting events, endurance challenges, auctions and a huge barn dance called Barney’s Bash.

But rowing across the Atlantic is the big one, the adventure of a lifetime, and an opportunity to raise significant sums for Meningitis Now and Get Ahead, a charity that supports people with head and neck cancers. 

The trip is being entirely self-funded – at an estimated cost of £100,000 – so every penny donated will find its way to one of the charities being supported.

Calling themselves The Brightsides, after the song Mr Brightside by The Killers, which was played at Barney’s memorial service, the team have set an ambitious target of £250,000, so every contribution is important and much appreciated.

To find out more about the voyage and to donate, visit www.thebrightsidesrow.com 

Farmers Weekly is proud to be a media partner and will soon have our logo on the side of the boat.