A tide of support for ‘Row for the Ocean’ as charity auction in Exeter raises £4.5 k to combat ocean plastic pollution

The four women behind Devon’s ‘Row for the Ocean’ team are overjoyed to have raised four and a half thousand pounds in one night at their charity auction, raffle and boat unveiling at The Terrace in Exeter last week (Thursday 13th September).

With just 85 days to go until they set off on a gruelling 3,000-mile race across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, the fantastic total is a big boost for rowers Kirsty Barker, Rosalind Holsgrove-West, Kate Salmon, and Laura Try.

The women were delighted to be joined on the night by sponsors, supporters, and well-wishers. The team’s main sponsor - local company P1 Investment - had the honour of taking the wraps off Liberty, the boat that will carry the girls through towering waves of up to 40 ft as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

Row for the Ocean aims to raise as much as possible for South-West based charity Surfers Against Sewage. The money will fund SAS’s Ocean Schools programme, which teaches children about the effects of plastic pollution on ocean wildlife. The women are also using the race as a platform for the Plastic Free Exeter campaign, which they set up alongside local volunteers to get the city’s population to reduce its reliance on single-use plastics.

Team member Kate Salmon says, “A massive thank you to everyone who came along on the night and gave of their time and money, also to the brilliant businesses who supported us with fantastic prizes and auction lots. We loved every minute of the party and are overjoyed to have raised so much. We hope people across Exeter and further afield will continue to back our campaign against single-use plastic, as the date of our departure draws ever closer!”