Former Lynn student who is currently rowing across Atlantic says challenge so far has been ‘phenomenal’ and ‘brutal’

A former Lynn pupil is three-quarters of the way through her enormous challenge of rowing across the Atlantic Ocean and has described it as “phenomenal but certainly insufferable at times”.Molly Hemeter, a former King Edward VII (KES) student and head girl, has been taking part in the enormous ‘Atlantic Fusion’ challenge with her partners Annika Israelsson, Bel Noyles and Dave Fassam, in an effort to raise funds for their chosen charity Abbie’s Army.She is now roughly three-quarters of the way along the 3,000 mile stretch of the ocean, and has said the biggest obstacle so far has been the weather.

Molly, who lives in North Wootton, said: “Mother Nature has been relentless and brutal at times making the rowing very hard mentally and physically. One of the team also had a knee infection and so couldn’t row for a few days. That was tough.“The challenge has been phenomenal but certainly insufferable at times. It’s a brutal challenge, but that’s why it’s called the world’s toughest row.“I’ve enjoyed it, especially the simplicity of it all and being so close to nature.”

Molly, 27, and the team have so far raised £17,160 via their JustGiving page. They have a £25,000 target to reach. Each team member rows in two hour shifts 24 hours a day. Molly’s first shift of the day typically starts at around 8-10am. She will start rowing then pause for breakfast and contact her family.“I’ll then rest a bit until my 12pm shift. By this point in the day it’s very hot so it’s all about resting eating and hydrating,” Molly said. “The evening shifts we row and then often try get off the oars and to bed as quickly as possible to get maybe an hour and a half. We then repeat.”

The Atlantic Fusion challenge has been three years in the making for Molly and the team, who had been constantly training to remain fit and healthy for the challenge.All profits from the row will go to Abbie’s Army, which works to raise awareness of childhood brain cancer, more specifically Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), an aggressive hard to treat type of tumour.“Dave’s daughters both lost a friend when she was four to the disease,” Molly added.

“It’s very important to us, and it’s a charity that not many people know about.

“DIPG affects so many more children in the UK than people don’t know about, so being able to support it will provide so many benefits to them and the families that suffer – it’s very close to our hearts.”