NORTH Berwick Rowing Club members are hosting an ‘oar-some’ fundraiser this weekend in support of Five In A Row – the team of North Berwick men currently rowing 3,000 miles unsupported across the Atlantic.

Five In A Row – North Berwick’s Ian Baird, Duncan Hughes, Ross McKinney and Clive Rooney, and Fraser Potter from Dunkeld – launched from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on December 12 and have already covered more than 2,500 miles of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge’s 3,000-mile route.

They are making such great progress – in second place out of a field of 35 boats – they are in line to beat the current world record for a five-man crew crossing the Atlantic, which stands at 35 days, 19 hours and 50 minutes.

Fellow rowers are planning to relay land row on the green at St Andrew Blackadder Church this Saturday, from 8am to 8pm, to raise money for Five In A Row’s chosen charity, Reverse Rett.

Five In A Row team member Ross’s daughter Eliza lives with Rett syndrome, a neurological condition which most often strikes previously healthy girls between their first and second birthday, leaving them with multiple disabilities and medical complexities for life.

In a recent post on Instagram, the Five In A Row team said: “While the days have been manageable, the nights have been horrendous. They can’t spot the waves in the dark and they’re so strong the boys have been knocked off their seats while rowing!”

Nearing the finish line, they added: “The wind has dropped a little and they will need to change their bearing to pick it up again in this last leg of the race.

“Everyone is in their own race, and their own row, so finishing safely is the main goal – a month of poor sleep can lead to silly mistakes, so they need to be extra careful.”

The men are expected to arrive this Sunday in Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua & Barbuda, where they will be met by their children, and wives and partners Catherine McKinney, Hannah Hughes, Charlotte Rooney and Alice Everett, who have flown out this week.

North Berwick Rowing Club members will take to their rowing machines on Saturday in a 12-hour relay to raise money for Reverse Rett and show solidarity for the men finishing the Atlantic challenge.

Millie Lowe, club captain, said: “We’ll have two rowing machines, land rowing continuously, which will be challenging and that’s the point. There’ll be one rower in each machine, rowing for an hour straight.”

With 24 rowers lined up to take their spot, the club hopes to add to the £26,837 already raised by Five In A Row.

Donations can be made at the rowing club’s event on Saturday or online via justgiving.com/fundraising/ross-mckinney6