National

Mother, daughter nearing shore

Alexandra Olson
Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico –After more than 100 days at sea, Sarah and Sally Kettle are about to become the first mother-daughter team to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a rowboat.

The British pair set off in a 23-foot plywood boat, the Calderdale, from the Canary Islands on Jan. 20, along with 13 other boats racing in the Ocean Rowing Society's Atlantic Rowing Regatta.

The Kettles were expected in Port St. Charles, Barbados, today after 2,907 miles and 106 days at sea, Kenneth Crutchlow, executive director of the rowing society, said Monday.

For stamina, Sarah, 45, and Sally, 27, ate 6,000 calories daily of mostly rice, rice cakes and chocolate. They averaged 37 miles a day during the last stretch of their journey, according to their Web site.

“Hundred days! How amazing is that? We don't believe it!” Sally said in a diary entry posted April 29 on the Web site. “We've had some truly dark days and some spectacular ones, too.”

The regatta is open to a mixed fleet of singles, doubles and four-member teams. Only three teams were still at sea Monday. The first to finish was a four-man team from Britain, which reached Barbados on Feb. 25 after 36 days at sea.

“We don't intend to win,” Sally wrote before setting off. “In fact, we know the only record within our reach would be the longest time spent crossing the Atlantic.”

The women, from Northampton, England, are trying to raise $1.7 million for epilepsy research at King's College in London.

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