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ATLANTIC DAGGER
This December 4 , two serving and two former Royal Marines Commandos will make the Ocean rowing team ‘ Atlantic Dagger ’ that will row the 3,000 mile New Ocean Wave transatlantic rowing race from Gran Canaria to Barbados in order to raise money for The Royal Marines Charity that provides a lifetime of support to the Royal Marines family .
Atlantic Dagger will leave Puerto Rico Marina on the island of Gran Canaria on the 15th December 2021 . They will row 2 - 3 hour shifts for up to 50 days covering 3,000 nautical miles while burning 6,000 calories a day . The record for this route in this class of ocean rowing boat is 36 days but if the weather conditions aren ’ t on point they can expect to be at sea for a further 14 days due to the hurricane winds and 30 foot waves that they will endure .
The team consists of Wirral born Harry Twells , 28 who grew up between Heswall and Burton . His family have a long affiliation with Merseyside and the North West , where his Grandad Donald Twells spent 40 years as a River Pilot on the Mersey and his father Neville Twells worked at Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service . Upon leaving Neston High School , Harry joined the Royal Marines in 2012 to pursue his sense of adventure that began at 4th Heswall Royal Naval Recognised Sea Scout group , which his family helped to establish in 1972 . Harry has since served 9 years with the Corps and tested his capabilities across the globe from the Arctic Circle to the Jungles of Asia and back again . In recent years he sustained a serious injury that has led to two operations and 3 years of rehabilitation and he now hopes to make a recovery and continue to serve . In this time , his thirst for adventure has grown and he can ’ t wait to start the transatlantic row . He still lives on the Wirral with his girlfriend , two sons and has a baby on the way and is looking forward to seeing them upon his return .
Jason Gardiner from Bristol joined the Royal Marines in 2007 and deployed to Afghanistan on operation Herrick 9 during 2008 / 2009 . Upon his return he represented the Navy boxing team for two years and eventually left the Corps at the end of 2011 . Jason then joined the Royal Marines Reserve where he deployed on a joint forces exercise to California in 2014 . Since leaving the Royal Marines , Jason has taken part in various fundraising activities for the Royal Marines Charity by completing the Marathon Des Sebles and boxing professionally . He has also finished a 100 mile foot race in 29 hours and he cycled solo to Barcelona . Crossing the Atlantic in a rowing boat has been playing on his mind for the last decade and his amazing wife says ‘ do it or don ’ t come home ’!
Oscar Stone grew up on a small farm in the New Zealand countryside , which led to his deep love of adventure and the outdoors . He moved from Kiwi Land to join the Royal Marines in 2014 and since then he has had plenty of adventure all over the world including multiple Arctic and desert deployments . He also spent six months in and around the South China Sea but not in a rowing boat . Having left the Royal Marines this summer he hopes to continue to challenge himself both physically and mentally and already has a new found love for ocean rowing so much so that after this small trip he may row back to New Zealand . Joe O ’ Neil the teams 4th rower is currently serving away with the Marines and will join the crew in November upon his return .
The lads have chosen to do this behemoth challenge in order to raise money for the Royal Marines Charity , a charity that is very close to all their hearts and celebrates its 75th anniversary this year after being born out of its predecessor The Royal Marines Association in 1946 . The original aims of this charity was to help those leaving the Corps to find jobs , resettlement and to maintain contact with each other and the corps . They also assist brothers in financial need and in more recent years provide support to the injured veterans and their families that have suffered after being at the forefront of fierce operations in 2001 which saw the start of a 14 year campaign in both Iraq and Afghanistan . During this time the Royal Marines took 16 % of all the British forces serious injuries despite only making up 5 % of the Armed Forces combined . With the donations from kind people so far The Atlantic Dagger team ’ s campaign has raised £ 24,000 which will help the Charity continue to do its outstanding work in the future .
The Ocean rowing boat ‘ Danielle ’ has been provided by Chris Martin from New Ocean Wave . She is built by Sea sabre in Devon , at 7.2 m long her hull is constructed from GRP with GRP covered marine plywood stringers , bulkhead and decks . She shows great pedigree history by carrying the first four to row the mid Pacific from California to Hawaii in 2014 and still holds the speed record for the route set in 2016 . She ' s also been used for the charity NOMAN race . She is looking forward to a change of scenery and can ’ t wait to ride the waves of the Atlantic .
Danielle has kept up with the Atlantic Dagger Roadshow and has travelled all around the country . After being picked up by Harry ’ s dad in Hamble , she was the last man or ‘ lady ’ standing after a pub crawl around the Wirral from the Red Lion on Parkgate front to the Brewers Arms in Neston including the Parkgate Club where she helped the team raise nearly £ 2,000 in one weekend thanks to all the kind donations . She has proved that she likes the drink and she scrubbed up well when she arrived for the Atlantic Daggers black tie ball at the Parkgate clubhouse where she played a key role in raising £ 6,500 over the course of the evening ! She has also been working with 4th Heswall Sea Scouts on her mission to interest and inspire .
16 wirrallife . com