THE crew aiming to beat the North Atlantic world rowing record continued to make good progress at the weekend - and had a whale of a time.

Nigel Morris and George Rock, of Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, with Steve Dawson, of Lincolnshire, and Rob Munslow, of Monmouth, are bidding to row the 2,100- mile journey from Canada to England in less than 55 days.

The boat is now out in the open ocean, where the hard work really begins.

Here is their latest report:

"It's been another busy 24 hours which has seen continued progress in an easterly direction.

Last night, we were cruising at speeds of up to 4knts, great for rowing but not so good for the nerves. We have just received our first bad weather forecast. We will later today be sitting on the para anchor for up to 48 hours.

A heated debate is now ensuing as we try to decide who has the honour of occupying the front cabin.

We did have a very close encounter with a whale, who was far from shy. Highlight of the day was the discovery of four fresh oranges - great for keeping scurvy at bay."

Yours, The Crew

* Keep up to date with the team's progress with updates in The Northern Echo.