A rower with only one year's experience is planning his biggest adventure yet - rowing across the Atlantic in a plywood boat.

Andrew Montague, 18, of Church Court, Riddlesden, is hoping to raise £200,000 for charity when he races across 2,900 miles of ocean from Tenerife to Barbados in October, 2001.

Accompanying him in the 23ft plywood boat will be his friend Pippa Hartley, of Kildwick, a former pupil of Skipton Girls' High School.

She is an experienced rower having rowed in Canada and for the University of Northumbria rowing club in Newcastle.

Their ambition is to finish first out of 50 pairs of competitors.

And Andrew is also determined to beat his brother Richard, 20, an officer in the Royal Navy based in Dartmouth who will also be taking part.

Andrew, a social psychology student at Loughborough University where he is a member of the rowing club, said: "We are very competitive and there will be an ongoing battle in the race as to who finishes first. Both of us want to beat each other and the conflict will spur us on.

"As well as that I'm hoping to become the youngest person in the Guinness Book of Records to row the Atlantic.

"I'm really looking forward to it but the training is very hard - six days a week. I go on the rowing machine at a gym and it is complete agony much to the amusement of the staff."

Inspiration for the race was Sir Chay Blyth, the first man to row across the Atlantic in 1966. The first race was staged with 30 pairs in 1997.

His company, The Challenge Business based in Plymouth, is organising the event. He said: "The Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge will be a supreme mental and physical challenge."

Andrew and Pippa have raised over £4,000 already though may need up to £50,000 before they realise the dream of setting off on their voyage.

Dangers they will face include waves of up to 80ft and killer sharks though he is unfazed by the risk.

Andrew added: "The boat is supposed not to capsize and even if it does it should flip back over. It is absolutely terrifying."

His mother Sue, clerk to the governors at Craven College, said: "It's very exciting for both boys. I think it's a tremendous challenge not only the crossing of the water but the planning and organisation that goes into it."

Money raised will go towards the Cetre for Alternative Technology in the Congo.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.