ROWING enthusiasts Sarah Luxton and Lucy Bufton are aiming to break a world record in Teignmouth and raise funds for the Devon Air Ambulance this weekend.

Their world record attempt on the longest continuous Tandem Ergo-Row started in early hours of this morning (Saturday) and is taking place outdoors at the town’s Seasports Watersports Centre.

Sarah and Lucy have set themselves the ultimate challenge and are taking turns to keep the fly wheel turning over three days and totting up a gruelling 60 hours of rowing.

The current world record for this challenge in Sarah and Lucy’s age category is 24 hours and the overall record is 50 hours. Aiming for 60 hours these women are striving to be well ahead of anybody who has attempted to break the record before.

The team are fundraising for Devon Air Ambulance who are highly thought of by the Seasports Watersports Centre and Devon Air Ambulance is extremely proud and grateful to these very experienced rowers who have a real passion for challenge.

Sally Hilton, head of fundraising at Devon Air Ambulance, said: ‘We are always so proud of our fundraisers and continue to be surprised by the incredible range of challenges they set themselves in order to raise vital funds for us.

‘The challenge that Sarah & Lucy are undertaking is a whole new level.

‘A world record attempt which takes them over a weekend is going to be physically and mentally challenging for them both.

‘Everyone at Devon Air Ambulance is wishing them all the luck in the world and we hope that everyone joins them on the quay to cheer them on towards breaking that record.’

Sarah and Lucy have shared some interesting facts about their love of rowing and water sports:

How old were you when you first took an interest in rowing?

Sarah - I was 11 years old, my Mum joined the local rowing club’s Seine boat series and I loved the thrill of watching the boats race around the point in Teignmouth and going out on the Restless following the races out to sea.

‘I knew I needed to get in on the action, so I started going to the Wednesday night ‘Novice nights’ and I was immediately hooked.

Lucy - I didn’t start until a lot later, I moved to Shaldon aged 22 and started rowing in a regatta dinghy.

‘I took part in the Shaldon Regatta that year, including the long distance, Dawlish to Shaldon race. Although I didn’t do very well, I was also hooked!

What is your proudest rowing achievement?

Lucy: ‘Rowing the Crazy River Race, which is an overnight row in the river Volga in Russia.

‘It was 150 km long and took our team Sarah: ‘That’s a tricky one because so many stick in my mind. I would have to name a year as opposed to a specific race, 2015 when I was in a crew that reached the Scilly World Championship ‘A’ group, we came fifth in the Newquay County Championships, we won the Ladies Overall in the Great River Race in London and we were named Teignbridge Team of the year.

To show your support for Sarah, Lucy and the Devon Air Ambulance, donate to their fundraising page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Scillyoarternatives