WHILE most of us were at home enjoying Christmas dinner or sleeping in front of the TV, Malvern businessman Carl Theakston was putting in yet another hard stint in his bid to row across the Atlantic Ocean.

While other teams in the Woodvale Atlantic Challenge race enjoyed a little down time on Christmas Day itself, Mr Theakston's four-man Pura Vida crew put in a full day's stint on the oars, gaining 25 miles to haul themselves up amongst the race leaders.

They took the lead outright for the first time on Friday, December 28, and with more than half of the 2,800 mile race distance behind them stand a good chance of being crowned winners when the race finishes at English Harbour, Antigua, in around a fortnight's time.

Mark Terry, a veteran of 15 Atlantic crossings and the man responsible for building their boat, has been in daily contact with Mr Theakston and his crew mates Tom Harvey, Robbie Grant and John Cecil-Wright since the race began.

"It depends on the weather and their route, but things are looking pretty good right now and there is a decent chance that they will go on and win," he said. "Two weeks ago they were 100 miles behind the lead boat, but now they are in front simply because they have been so disciplined and determined with their rowing and routing."

Team Pura Vida's achievements are all the more remarkable considering that none of them had any background in rowing before they started training for the race.

"They are probably the only team that has walked out of the office, done their training and then set off into the ocean," said Mr Terry. "I think they always secretly wanted to win the race, but were not sure what to expect once they got out there.

"It's certainly looking very good at the moment. As you'd expect they all have lots of aches and pains, but their morale is fantastic and their spirits are very high."