A KENDAL woman who hopes to complete the world's first solo row around Britain is appealing for people to get onboard to make sure her dream comes true.

Sarah Weldon, 39, has just 17 days to go to raise £33,000 to fund the boat build for her expedition around the British mainland shores, tracking old Viking routes.

With £2,250 pledged so far, the rowing enthusiast is asking for people to delve deep into their pockets for the record breaking attempt to get off the ground and into the water.

And if Sarah doesn't manage to gather the cash within her 30 day campaign time frame, the whole Great British Viking Quest could be pushed back.

"There is a serious risk that I will have to put my expedition back a year if I don't raise the funds, and I now have a rival for the Guinness World record for first person to row solo around Great Britain, so the pressure is really on," she said. "It's like Scott and Amundsen both trying to be the first to plant flags at the South Pole!"

As soon as the target is hit on the donation website Kickstarter, the final stage of the boat build can commence.

"We raised over £1000, had 140 new likes on our Facebook page, and became a staff pick on Kickstarter within the first hour of launch, but its slowed down a lot in terms of pledges now, though the social media has been non stop," added Sarah, founder and CEO of educational charity Oceans Project, which uses its website to teach children about the ocean.

There are even rewards for those who can cough up a few quid.

"A lot of the rewards are bringing backers to the Lake District for things like a picnic, Christmas Day, or New Year's Eve on the boat on Lake Windermere, and Sunday lunch," she said.

The project leader will be using wearable technology including Google Glass so thousands of children across the globe can track her progress on her virtual online learning platform as she treads the waters of the epic 3,000 mile course.

“Being able to collect data just by wearing technology will enable me to remain hands free and totally focused on the task in hand - rowing around some of the most treacherous coastline in the world,” added Sarah.

But she told the Gazette being a woman can have a negative affect on the fundraising.

"Its much harder for females to gain sponsorship for expeditions and scientific field research than for men," said the Wings Worldquest flag carrier - an organisation which supports extraordinary female explorers. "The flag I'm carrying around Britain on my expedition was last taken across the Arctic by polar explorer and BBC Cloud Lab Presenter Felicity Aston.

"She is about to get an MBE and was the first to ski solo across Antarctica."

Sarah hopes to embark on the 14-week adventure on May 28 if enough money is pledged.

For more information and to donate visit www.oceansproject.com