Ex-finance worker and crew win row around Britain

A man who quit his finance job in London to focus on fitness has become one of the fastest people to complete what is regarded as one of the toughest rowing challenges in the world.

Sam Gibbons, 30, from Copford in Essex, grew up sailing around Brightlingsea near Colchester.

Along with Marco Capella, Stefano Capella, Mike Eager and Felix Wood, they navigated the 2,000 miles around Great Britain in 32 days, finishing on Thursday.

They were the fastest of two teams competing in this year's GB Row Challenge, and the second team remains at sea.

"I think fun is the wrong word to describe it, but we saw some amazing things," said Gibbons.

Gibbons' team Rowmads - and the other team named Nautilus which was made up of men and women - set off from Tower Bridge in London at 14:00 BST on 14 June.

While rowing, both teams have gathered information about ocean health and pollution levels.

This will be analysed by scientists at the University of Portsmouth before being shared through the Marine Data Exchange.

Gibbons said the group rotated in shifts and were each rowing for 15 hours a day, surviving on defrosted ration packs.

The first thing he did after arriving at Tower Bridge was eat a "big juicy burger with lots of salad".

Gibbons said he would never forget seeing dolphins playing around the boat in the Irish Sea and Scotland.

"Great Britain is an amazing country, the coastline we have is absolutely unbelievable, the scenery is stunning - the wildlife is so varied, there is so much of it that we were lucky enough to see."

While England sweltered in a heatwave, the crew endured two weeks of rain around Scotland.

"You can't dry anything," he recalled.

"You have to take off your soaking wet stuff and then you have to put it back on two hours later - still soaking wet."

Having quit his finance job in London, Gibbons has been a qualified online fitness coach for the past six years and helps people train for extreme challenges.

In December, he completed a row across the Atlantic with two other people in 35 days.

According to the GB Row Challenge website, the fastest crew to row around Great Britain unsupported was the four-man Black Oyster team in 2013, who finished in 26 days, nine hours and nine minutes - a Guinness World Record.

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