Ipswich Town fan completes 'relentless' 40-day row across Atlantic Ocean
Tom Rose rowing the Atlantic Ocean in his Ipswich Town shirt - Credit: Tom Rose
An Ipswich Town fan helped raise £20,000 to support homeless veterans as part of a three-person team that rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.
Tom Rose set off from the Canary Islands on December 12 on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, widely thought of as the world's toughest row.
During the time he was away, Tom missed a number of his beloved Blues' fixtures – including the appointment of new manager Kieran McKenna.
Ipswich Town fan Tom Rose rowed from the Canary Islands to Antigua - Credit: ITFC
But the football fan, who is from Nacton, kept in touch with Town's results while he was away over the Christmas and New Year period by sending messages to his girlfriend.
He also wore a retro Ipswich Town kit at times throughout the challenge.
Tom and his rowing partners, James and Taylor, arrived on the shores of Caribbean nation Antigua on January 21 after spending 40 days and 37 minutes out at sea – which is believed to be a world record.
The trio's challenge was in aid of Alabare Homes for Veterans, which provides ex-servicemen with accommodation in their time of need.
The trio's time is thought to be a world record for the challenge - Credit: ITFC
Tom told the Ipswich Town website: "We left from the Canary Islands and went across to Antigua - quite a long way to row a boat. It was a long, relentless journey but a really good experience.
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"I've done a few endurance events around the Marathon Des Sables in 2019, which is a 250km run across the desert. I didn't really fell that pushed me to my limits and test me how I wanted it to.
"The 40 days were relentless. It's a long time to be on a 28-foot by seven-foot rowing boat. We rode two hours on an one hour off, and that was 24/7.
"We did it for Alabare Home for Veterans. They are a charity that basically help ex-servicemen and veterans off the street. If veterans fall on hard times, they pull them off the street and have a number of houses which they put them in.
"They're a really good charity, a smaller charity, which we thought was important so that any money we raised really would go to the charity and make a difference."
