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Santa hats for Atlantic rowers as they celebrate Christmas

Over 21 teams from across the globe are taking on the gruelling race.
Over 21 teams from across the globe are taking on the gruelling race. Over 21 teams from across the globe are taking on the gruelling race.

Competitors in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge donned Santa hats to celebrate Christmas while spending the festive period crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Teams are competing in what is known as the world’s toughest rowing race, making a 3,000-mile journey from the Canary Islands to Antigua – spending up to 90 days at sea.

Some 55 rowers from across the globe are taking on the gruelling race under strict coronavirus protocols, according to the organisers.

70-year-old Frank Rothwell is hoping to raise £1 million for Alzheimer’s Research UK (Ben Duffy/PA) (MANFRED TENNSTEDT)

Solo rower Frank Rothwell, 70, who is hoping to raise £1 million for Alzheimer’s Research UK, was among those to sport a red Santa hat while undertaking the challenge.

Generation Gap, a team from the UK, plan on celebrating the festivities by having their own Christmas party with “Mariah (Carey) blasting out across the Ocean, hoping she may attract some dolphins for a Christmas swim”.

The team of four are raising money for charities Women’s Aid, The Royal Marines Charity, Mind and Rural Assistance Nepal.

Meanwhile, the Bristol Gulls, aiming to raise awareness of plastic pollution and drowning prevention, said they had been “lucky” to tuck into homemade Christmas cake and speak with their families back home.

“Whilst eating macaroni cheese with a spork certainly isn’t a conventional Christmas dinner, this one will go down in our memory banks as one to remember forever,” the team said.