Paramedic attempts Britain coast row

A paramedic is preparing to row the entire coast of mainland Britain despite having no previous rowing experience before taking on the challenge.

Kit Nelson, 26, will set off from Tower Bridge on Sunday 14 June as part of a six-strong team aiming to complete the 2,070-mile (3,331km) journey in as little as 45 days.

He said conditions at sea can quickly become dangerous, with choppy waters making the experience feel like "being inside a washing machine".

"There's a lot of parts that can get quite dicey with the pure speed of the water," he told BBC Radio Surrey.

The South East Coast Ambulance Service paramedic, based in Chertsey, said: "It has been pretty difficult all of us together, and most of the work has been in the gym.

"We have had to build ourselves up from absolutely nothing into a fully functioning ocean rowing team."

Nelson and his team will complete the challenge on a 10m x 2m (32.8ft x 6.5ft) vessel similar to those used by teams completing transatlantic rowing challenges.

Five of the six people in the team had no ocean rowing experience before the challenge, he added.

While they hope to complete the journey in around 45 days, the crew is prepared for it to take up to 55 days depending on weather and sea conditions.

Alongside the physical challenge, the group will be gathering data on microplastics, environmental DNA and water temperature, which will be used in a University of Portsmouth study.

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