Dentists complete Atlantic Challenge by Natalie Woods, dentaltownUK Staff Writer

In December two men geared up for their adventure. They embarked on a 51-day journey across the Atlantic, in a vessel that may surprise you. A rowing boat.

The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge is aptly named ‘the worlds toughest row’. It is a challenge that requires its contestants to race across the Atlantic Ocean in a specialised rowboat. The Fresh Dental Challenge came about when two dentists from Dartmouth, decided to take part.

It’s clear enough that rowing the Atlantic is a huge undertaking. As described on the race website: ‘more people have been into space, or climbed Everest than have rowed the Atlantic.’ The initial idea of the Atlantic Challenge race came to Sir Chay Blyth whilst he was rowing the Atlantic Ocean in 1966 with John Ridgeway. For them it was a 92-day battle against hurricanes, 50 foot waves and near starvation. It’s no surprise that so few people have taken the challenge on, but for charity, dentists Justin Marney and Azud Irshad felt like they could handle it.

They began their 3000- nautical mile challenge on the 14th of December 2016. Departing from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, along with 11 other teams, Fresh Dental Challenge rowed off into the Atlantic.

Justin and Azud work together at Fresh Dental Healthcare. They are an NHS clinic based in Dartmouth. They also provide treatments for nervous patients as well as non-NHS treatments.

At their practice Justin offers aesthetic and general dentistry. He is married with 3 children and qualified as dentist from Manchester University. He walked the 270-mile Pennine Way at 16 and has continued to challenge himself for over 30 years regularly taking part in endurance events. Azud aids those with anxieties around dental visits, provides facial aesthetics and also offers general and cosmetic dentistry. He started out working as a nurse in hospitals and in Dental Access Centres across South Devon. He is keen on physical fitness and trains in the gym or runs every day, and his diet remains clean and disciplined all year round. We can’t really think of people who would have been more suited to take on this challenge.

The dentists were raising money for Rowcroft Hospice. Rowcroft Hospice is a specialist caring facility in Torquay. Their team of doctors, nurses, social workers and a range of other health and social care professionals provide specialist care in their Inpatient Unit. They also care for out-patients and their loved ones, offering therapies, bereavement support and medical consultation in an environment that helps patients and families make the most of precious time together. With their much-needed services costing £8.3 Million last year, Justin and Azud’s contribution will be much appreciated.

As you can imagine, 51 days out in the open ocean can be tough. Both dentists were away from their families over the festive period. Their company was birds, fish and whales, which apparently were a common sight out on the Atlantic Ocean.

They burnt around 8,000 calories a day and lost approximately 20% of their body weight over the duration of the race. They endured intense hunger and heat, living in an unpredictable environment, a shark encounter and sleep deprivation. Living through eating only freeze dried food and dealing with the irony that was being a dentist with toothache, Justin and Azud completed the challenge they set themselves.

They managed to send updates along the way that give you an insight into how difficult yet thrilling their race was. You can look back on their blog entries on the Fresh Dental Challenge website. An excerpt from a blog update from Justin reads:

“The boat was being tossed around in big waves under a very dark night with little visibility. A wave caught us and disengaged the auto helm and we spun 180 degrees, which meant we were facing the wrong way in big seas. I got Azud up and we managed to turn the boat around downwind and get her back on track without capsizing her. Azud went back to bed to leave me in pouring rain, strong winds and wild seas for 3 hrs. All in a nights work mid Atlantic – no-one said it would be easy.”

However, all the hardship was worth it. A target donation amount was set at £10,000. They surpassed their target by over a thousand pounds, raising £11,390! Their Atlantic Challenge was completed in 51 days 11 hours and 35 minutes. They arrived in the English Harbour in Antigua on the 3rd of February with full beards and flares, celebrating their defeat of the challenge. Speaking about their journey, Azud said:

“Having completed my biggest physical and mental challenge thus far, I feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of this achievement. I’m still reflecting on all of the situations we encountered.”

“By far the best feeling was crossing the finish line, but on the Atlantic, jumping off the boat half way through for a swimming lesson was equally terrifying and exciting.”

“There’s nothing that I would consider a bad experience throughout the challenge but the toughest thing to do was slow down to coordinate with the arrival of our families. But that lead to a truly incredible scene when we made land fall.”

“I am most looking forward to catching up with my family and friends. Also looking forward to carrying this momentum forward and pursue different challenges and projects”.

Well done to Justin and Azud! Should you wish to donate to Rowcroft Hospice, you still can through Justin’s JustGiving page or directly through Rowcroft’s website - www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/the-teams/fresh-dental-challenge.