Last week marked the beginning of an exceptional journey as six Leicestershire business men embarked on a never before attempted journey to row from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

The journey saw them span the length of the UK; starting at the most southern part of British waters; Land’s End, tackling the tumultuous North Sea and finishing at John O’Groats in Scotland.

1097 miles, 12 oars, 6 rowers, 3 weeks, 1 boat and NOW two world records; this was the Lumbers Celebrity Row.

On Saturday, the intrepid team took the second deserved pit stop at the ‘Colourworks’ restaurant situated on the banks of the River Soar in Leicester.

As they docked at the venue they were greeted by a supportive crowd who joined the boys to celebrate their achievements. Whilst enjoying the gorgeous weather and well earned drinks, the boys shared stories with the crowd on the adventures they had encountered so far.

Dominic Gomersall, from Lumbers jewellers and the man who instigated the row, said: “One morning was just wonderful, we were joined by a school of inquisitive and fun bottle-nosed dolphins. There were probably 7 or 8 who swam alongside us, playing and jumping around the boat for a couple of hours – it certainly distracted the mind from the excruciating rowing pain.”

The boys, who were joined by Leicester Tigers legends Martin Corry and Ben Kay (pictured above), have been making remarkable progress, breaking records from Lands End to Ilfracombe in just 31 hours non stop. They were then greeted by a rapturous crowd, the mayor and the local press at Ilfracombe harbor.

The celebrity row team also broke another world record at Foxton Locks on Friday 12th July, where they battled through the locks smashing the existing record of 29 minutes by completing all locks in an unbelievably fast time of 20 minutes and 46 seconds.

Along their journey the team also met the crew from RNLI in ‘The Old Ship Aground’ Pub on quay as Dominic explained, “Hearing the stories first hand from these incredible men makes all our rowing and fund raising worthwhile. They make a huge personal sacrifice of time and lifestyle to serve in their local crew.”

It wasn’t all plain sailing though, as the boys had to battle through forceful storms and fast flowing currents, providing a few problematic moments for the crew. They made it through the 2nd biggest tidal flow in the world, the Bristol Estuary, and the whole journey was a great achievement for the Leicestershire Businessmen.

World Senior Snooker Champion, Willie Thorne (pictured top), who is also a patron of Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, came along to support the rowers, along with soul singer, Andy Abraham. Both celebrities attended the event to support the worthwhile cause and keep the Celebrity Row crew’s morale high. As the evening came to an end everyone cheered the boys off as they continued on their way.

Dominic Gomersall, owner of Lumbers boutique jewellers in Leicester, successfully recovered from an operation to remove a brain tumour five years ago and wanted to create a once in a lifetime opportunity in which to raise awareness and money for charities whose sole purpose is to help save and enrich people’s lives and that’s where the inspiration for this rowing marathon came from.

You can still donate to these noble causes by visiting www.celebrityrow.co.uk/Charity.aspx and clicking donate now!