Leukaemia survivor Thomas Cremona and his team of five rowers finally left southern Morocco yesterday after their attempt to break the transatlantic world record was delayed by three days.
The team had been hoping to start their row from Tarfaya in Morocco to Barbados on Sunday but departure had to wait because of bad weather.
His father Alfred said the 22-year-old set off at 2.20 p.m. local time yesterday. “Thomas was very excited and sounded confident they could break the record given the right weather conditions,” his father said.
After flying to Morocco, the six-man team, which had never met up before, rowed from Agadir to Tarfaya. Mr Cremona told his father the past few days served as time to bond and gave them the opportunity to improve their technique before setting off to Barbados, 5,000 kilometres away.
The high point of the Agadir-Tarfaya row was when the boat was “escorted” by dolphins for part of the way, Mr Cremona also reported
He is hoping they would reach Barbados in a shorter time than the mid-Atlantic rowing speed record of 33 days, seven hours and 30 minutes, which meant they had to try to leave in optimum weather conditions to increase their chances.
They will be rowing in two teams of three persons each in an 11-metre-long boat named Sara G.
Mr Cremona, who survived acute lymphoblastic leukaemia since being diagnosed at the age of four, is taking part in the row to raise funds for Puttinu Cares Foundation, the organisation that helps young cancer patients and their families while undergoing hospital treatment in the UK.
The young athlete has other achievements under his belt: he has broken the Concept2 longest continual row world record, completed a LifeCycle challenge, a Malta marathon and a Gozo channel swim.
Mr Cremona has a personal blog to share the experience with others by going to www.oceanrowmalta.com.
Donations to Puttinu Cares Foundation can be made via: SMS on 50617380 for €2.33, 5061 8939 for €6.99 and 5061 9225 for €11.65. Dial 5004 9543 for €7, 5004 9545 for €11 or 5004 9540 for €23. Otherwise, donate directly to Bank of Valletta account 400 1812 2134.