Firstly they had planned a collection and boat display at ASDA in Swindon on 21 July, followed by the boat naming later that day. On that awful, rainy Friday evening, they were both travelling to Mayfield Park, near Cirencester, to camp. But it took Lin 6 hours to do a 2 hour journey, while Rachel narrowly avoided being one of the 10,000 people who slept on the M5. Lin ended up pitching a tent with her son, Liam in the dark after midnight and Rachel eventually gave up the hunt for a hotel and headed home, arriving in the small hours.

Undaunted, at 6am the next day they were on the phone to each other. Having checked hte news and internet, they decided there was no alternative other than to cancel the day's eventls. For one thing, Rachel couldn't get to the South, but also they didn't want to put friends and family at risk, bearing in mind the massive rescue operations going on in the area. Frustrating though this was, it was a good lesson in the power of nature and safety coming first!

But by the Sunday things were much clamer and they met up at Mayfield Park, who as a result have become a bronze sponsor and ralyy showed floods of kindness to the team. The day was spent with their friend Ned, who is helping with the boat electrics, and applying the sponsor's logo's to the boat in readiness for the naming.

Meanwhile they are ploughing on with preparations and learning new things all the time. They want to take a laptop onboard with them, and have a bet with the boat's former owner (for a bottle of Antiguan Rum!) that they can (or as George thinks, can't) get one across the ocean in full working order. At one point they were hopeful of a loan from the manufacturer. Eventually though, they were put in touch with Stone Computers Ltd who have agreed to buy the laptop as their sponsorship of the team. Watch this space for details.

The weekend after the rain, with many areas still flooded, the team spent four days at Strensham Motorway Services on the M5. Probably the best motorway services ever!

This was a huge logistical challenge - they had to find somewhere to stay (as their intended campsite was under water) and Mayfield Park stepped in to help, then store the boat, switch from Northbound to Southbound and stay enthusiastically on their feet for 9+ hours each day.

But they do enjoy these events once they are underway. Both rowers like meeting people and explaining what they are doing, and they get the opportunity to speak to some fantastic people,many who have or have had breast cancer or other forms of the disease, and who are living proof that the work of Breast Cancer Care and other charities is essential.

This time they also caught up with a couple of sponsors, one of whom had no idea the team were at Strensham, but who just stopped by to break up a journey. By pure coincidence, they also bumped into Steve Dorling who rode in on a bright pink Harley-Davidson that matched the boat. Steve was a little surprised to be accosted by two clearly mad women, but kindly lent them the bike for some photographs.

During August, both women will be taking a much needed holiday. Although this is valuable time spent away from the challenge, it is also important that they spent time with partners and family as the start date approaches.

However, an excellent turnout of friends and family saw the naming, blessing and official launch of the good rowing boat 'Barbara Ivy' on 11 August at Keynes Country Park. Named after Lin's mother-in-law and Rachel's grandmother, it was an emotional expereience to hear the boat and team being blessed.

The naming was accompanied by the traditional bottle of champagne, through this time sprayed, rather than broken, over hte boat. The impressive photo below is courtesy of Dr George Simpson, former owner of the boat, who is helping the team prepare.

With a few glasses of pink fizz to celebrate, the team gave supporters the chance to step aboard, taking the braver few for a ride round the lake. Thanks got to Rachel's mum Janet, who conducted the blessing and naming, and to everyone else who has helped the team in the last few weeks.

The next step will be a few weekends hard at work on the boat, before 48 hours spent living and rowing onboard, on the water, at the beginning of September. Remember to keep checking the website for news and make sure you book your tickets for the party soon!

Question of the month - Do you ever come across negativity relating to the challenge?
Not surprisingly, they experience very little in the way of negative comments. Apart from 'you must be mad!', people are generally supportive and encouraging when they meet the team. But at Strensham they were approached by a lady with a very different view, who having seen the challenge information inside the service, went to talk to the team.

The lady was appalled by the costs involved in entering the race and thought that the rowers should abandon the row and just raise £150,000 (instead of £100k for the charity and £50l costs) for Breast Cancer Care. Somewhat taken aback, the girls explained that without the challenge of the row, fundraising would be virtually impossible and certainly not as successful. The whole principle of sponsorship being that you take part in an event and in return, people donate money to your cause.

Even though the team have already donated over £23,000 to Breast Cancer Care, this woman accused them of being 'just two rowers out for a jolly'. Imagine her face then, when they politely informed her that until 2 years ago, neither of them had ever sat in a rowing boat!!

The lady went away with her mind unchanged, leaving the team to mull over thier position. But having thought it through, they are still convinced that what they are doing is right, and while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, they don't have to agree with it!