TWO men are hoping to break a world record by becoming the youngest to row across the Atlantic.

Oxford Brookes University student Tom Heal and his school friend Will Smith, who lives in Badminton, near Bristol, have signed up to take part in the Woodvale Atlantic Ocean Rowing Race, which will see them row 2,931 miles, or 2,500 nautical miles.

As they will both be 21 at the time of the race, which starts on December 6, they would become the youngest team ever recorded to row across the ocean.

Mr Heal, who lives in James Street, East Oxford, and is in his second year studying business and management, said: “I decided I wanted to do the race in January last year and it took me a little while to get my partner and we have now put our race entry in.

“We didn’t realise it was going to be a record until a while after we decided to do it.”

Only about 300 people have rowed from one side of the Atlantic to the other, fewer than the number who have reached the summit of Everest.

They include double Olympic gold rowing medallist James Cracknell and television presenter Ben Fogle, who completed the journey in 2006.

The pair estimate the endeavour will cost about £65,000, which they now have to raise in sponsorship, with the boat alone costing £24,000.

They are also hoping to raise an additional £10,000 on top of that to donate to the Special Boat Service Association, a charity which helps injured members and bereaved families of the Special Boat Service, the nautical equivalent of the SAS, and aims to perpetuate the memory of people who died in the service of their country.

Mr Heal said he had been sailing on and off for most of his life but had not done a great deal of rowing.

He said: “I have got quite a lot of spare time and I wanted to do something a bit different and push myself.

“We’ve got seven to eight months to get ourselves into shape and learn how to do it as best as we can.

“I think the mental side of it will be the most difficult thing.”

He estimated it would take them between 50 and 70 days, starting at La Gomera in the Canary Islands and finishing in Antigua in the Caribbean.

Anyone who would like to sponsor the pair should send an email to atlanticrowyt@googlemail.com fbardsley@oxfordmail.co.uk