The Mansfield brothers-in-law, who are aiming to raise £250,000 for dementia charities, reported on Sunday: “Earlier this morning, we had some sort of wreckage drift past us. It was a big sea-worn wooden crate (or container) with a ship’s light strapped to it. As we rowed past, a big creature swam around us. It was about two metres long with a dark (almost black) back and white underbelly. It quickly darted alongside us, under us and, thankfully, swam away! It wasn’t a dolphin or a shark, but it was certainly a big old ‘fishy’ thing!”

The intrepid rowers have passed their fifth waypoint and took the photo (above) showing them having a small celebration.

The duo, having attempted to row individually in two-hour shifts since they set off, are now “debating how to schedule six hours continuous sleep to give us a bit more energy”.

That means they have, reluctantly, decided to reduce their speed and accept that 50 miles rowed per day is ‘good’ rather than pushing for 60 miles and burning themselves out.

“All in all, it’s going great aboard the Innovation Nottinghamshire Memory Boat,” they added.

The Oar Blimey team back in Mansfield helped to raise awareness of their fundraising during an awareness day at Tesco, Oak Tree Lane, in the town.

Family, friends, and supporters collected £247.42on the day towards the £250,000 appeal.

 George and Russ set off on a three-month adventure of a lifetime on 1st December, aiming to row unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean and raise £250,000 for two dementia charities. They will each row for two hours at a time and then rest in between.

The 3,500-mile challenge began in front of a small group of supporters in Portugal and the duo want to reach Sint Maarten in the Caribbean.

Team Oar Blimey are rowing in a Rannoch Adventure R20, which is just 6.5m long and 1.2m wide, in their bid to help Our Dementia Choir with Vicky McClure and Ladybrook Enterprises.

The rowers can be tracked at www.oarblimey.co.uk or download the YB Races app and add their race, “Oar Blimey Atlantic Ocean Challenge 2023”.

To find out more about the rowing challenge or to help support the cause, visit https://oarblimey.co.uk where you can make a donation or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/oarblimey