A FATHER and son rowing team will be spending this Christmas racing across the Atlantic in a bid to smash two world records.

Norman and James Beech, of Coniston, will set off from the Canary Islands in the Woodvale Challenge Atlantic Rowing Race on Sunday – aiming to arrive in Antigua by early February.

Calling themselves the Beech Boys Atlantic, the pair hope to shave 13 days off the existing crossing time of 78 days for a father and son team.

And 18-year-old James hopes to become the youngest ever person to row the Atlantic.

Mr Beech, 49, manages the University of Birmingham's Raymond Pri-estley Centre for Outdoor Pursuits. He said: “It is a considerable challenge “More people have stood on Everest than rowed the Atlantic! I’ve done some adventurous sea kayaks in the past and James is a very capable and determined ind-ividual.”And the pair didn’t have to travel far for training – just down the road in fact.

Mr Beech said: “We’ve done laps of Coniston to prepare and we’ve worked out that rowing the Atlantic is the equivalent of rowing the lake 600 times which, psychologically, is more manageable than 3,000 miles!”

The pair will also be using the opportunity to raise between £30,000-£40,000 for WaterAid, a charity which provides clean water to the world’s poorest countries. Mr Beech said: “A few years ago we fundraised to build a water pipeline in Senegal. Having learned of the impact that it brought to those people we are really pleased to support the work of WaterAid through our row. Water is such a basic need for everyone in the world.”

Also in the race are two former Giggleswick School students. Team JCT600, made up of Alex Macdonald and Luke Grose, both 23, of Giggleswick, have raised £50,000 in sponsorship and an extra £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support so far.

If you would like to sponsor either team contact Beech Boys Atlantic on 01539 441 364 and www.justgiving.com/teamjct600 for the Giggleswick team.