#coastalrowing – Four young men who have spent the last 25 days rowing 2,000 miles non-stop around Britain are due to set a new world record when they reach Tower Bridge at approx 5pm on Thursday, June 27.
The crew – known as the Islanders because all come from islands – are expected to knock 12 hours off the world record which currently stands at 26 days 21 hours and 14 minutes.
Skipper Josh Taylor, 24, Alan Morgan, 23, from Mersea Island, Essex, James Plumley, 24, from Guernsey and 25-year-old Gavin Sheehan from southern Ireland, will win a £100,000 bounty from the organisers of GBRow 2013 – the world's toughest rowing race.
On June 1, six boats set off from Tower Bridge to race around Britain's mainland. By the end of the first week, when the race reached land's End, four crews had abandoned the race, mainly due to mechanical problems caused by rough seas.
The Islanders turned down medical assistance from a lifeboat when one of the crew Gavin Sheehan, suffered a back problem in huge waves in the Bristol Channel.
They soldiered on, braving storms that snapped an oar, a live RAF bombing practice near John O'Groats and navigating through some of the world's busiest shipping lanes in a boat no bigger than a family car.
The Islanders in their boat, the Black Oyster, are expected under Tower Bridge at around 5pm on Thursday. They will then come ashore at HMS President RNR (next to St Katharine's Dock) 72 St Katharine's Way London E1W 1UQ.
