Peebles woman set to row the Atlantic

Taylor Winyard, right, joins from left, fellow Scot Euan Fraser, Tom Rose and James Woolley in the Ocean Nomads crew.

29-year-old company director and thrill-seeker Taylor Winyard says she’s looking forward to the experience, which she says will be “crazy, daunting, but very exciting”.

She’ll be part of a crew of four, alongside former Marathon Des Sables participants Tom Rose, James Woolley and Euan Fraser, as part of the Atlantic Nomads team in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, which will see teams taking on the 3,000-mile row from San Sebastian in the Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua in December.

No stranger to putting her body through its paces, Taylor told the Southern: “In 2019, after stepping away from sprint-kayaking, I set off up Mount Kilimanjaro in search of a new challenge.

Former Peebles High School pupil Taylor Winyard.

“After a successful summit experience and some would say a quarter-life crisis, it left me striving for something bigger.

"I hope to test myself to see how far I can push my body, both mentally and physically, in a race like no other.

"It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Taylor heard the crew was looking for a new member after one of them, Rob Aitchison, had to pull out due to work commitments … the race could take anything from 35-45 days.

She joined them in Portland, where the 28-foot boat “Doris” is based and impressed them enough to be invited onboard.

Taylor and her crew will endure sleep deprivation, sea sickness, huge calorie deficits, hallucinations, salt sores and 40ft waves as they navigate their way across one of the busiest shipping zones in the world.

The team are aiming to row in pairs, two hours on, two hours off around the clock for the duration of the crossing.

They will be pushing themselves to their mental and physical limits all to raise much-needed awareness and funds for their chosen charity, Alabaré’s Homes for Veterans, which provides supported accommodation to British Armed Forces Veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

The team is set to undertake a training row along the west coast of Scotland in August and will also be attending Stobo Castle Ladies Day at Musselburgh Racecourse on August 20.

For more information about the team and the challenge visit www.atlanticnomads.co.uk or follow @atlanticnomads on Instagram.