Wounded British and Ukrainian veterans to row Atlantic for charity
A former Royal Marine will lead a group of British and Ukrainian rowers on a challenge to cross the Atlantic Ocean in support of the Invictus Games.
Veteran Lee Spencer will captain a team of four personnel on a mission to raise funds for wounded servicemen and women.
"There is a common bond between all servicemen and women. The fact we're all wounded and injured as well, that's another level of shared experience," said Mr Spencer.
Mr Spencer told Forces News' Sofie Cacoyannis: "In December this year, I'll be leading a joint team of Ukrainian wounded and injured servicemen and British wounded and injured servicemen. Me being one of them.
"Two Brits and two Ukrainians, and we’re going to row across the Atlantic from Canary Islands to Barbados in the Caribbean.
"We're raising money for the Invictus Games Foundation, and that is going to be refenced for Ukrainian service personnel rehabilitation."
Mr Spencer got the idea during the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf in 2023 when he travelled to Germany to meet members of the Ukrainian national team.
After proposing his plan to row the Atlantic for charity, two men from Team Ukraine volunteered to join.
The boat the team plan to use is a Ukrainian-made vessel and will house the crew for the duration of the challenge.
On board there will be limited space, movement will be difficult and emergency water will have to be taken.
During the challenge, two men will row while the other two rest. They will rotate continuously until they reach their destination.
Mr Spencer added: "The start is really challenging. My first row with road to recovery, first week was worst week of my life. It’s really physically demanding and mentally challenging.
"You're not only living on top of each other in really cramp conditions, but you can’t go anywhere, which is something which will be new to the other three crew members, you can't take yourself off just for two minutes on your own."
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