STILL MAKING WAVES, AT 73!

STRANDED in the Atlantic Ocean 400 miles off the Antigua coast isn’t exactly where you would expect to find a football club chairman – but then there’s noone quite like Oldham Athletic’s Frank Rothwell.

- Matthew Luddington

The 73-year-old Latics owner made history as the oldest man to row across the Atlantic unassisted three years ago, covering a remarkable 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to Antigua and raising an impressive £1.1 million for Alzheimer Research. And now he’s doing it again.

Aboard his boat, named For A Cure, Rothwell set off on his latest voyage in December and can finally see the finishing line on the horizon. Indeed, come Wednesday or Thursday, the veteran circum-navigator will hope to finally complete his pain-staking mission.

But, unsurprisingly, the expedition has not gone without the odd hiccup along the way and just last Friday, his craft was left para-anchored and waiting for a change in wind direction in order to proceed.

So, sat in the middle of the ocean with just a satellite phone for company, Rothwell did what any intrepid football club owner would do in the same circumstances – call The NLP for a catchup, of course!

“We’ve had terrible conditions for ocean rowing,” Rothwell reported back.

“Three years ago, I completed this journey in 56 days. This time I expected to finish in 49 days but we’re now on day 51 and I’ve still got 400 miles to go!

“I’m going backwards now because the wind has changed direction and is blowing me the wrong way. I’m in a big current which is very contrary to the direction I was going, which is a bit of a pain.”