Teignmouth watersports instructor Tim Cox and team-mate Andy Purvis have less than 500 miles left until they complete their quest to row across the Atlantic Ocean.

The pair, rowing as ‘Oar Mighty Mates 2C’, are taking part in the ‘World’s Toughest Row’, paddling a mere 3000 miles from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua.

Tim and Andy celebrated passing the 500-miles-to-go mark with their last bottle of wine (from what was quite an extensive collection!). However, Andy confirmed that the two men still have some rum and plenty of M&Ms left in their food rations.

Favourable strong winds have helped push Tim and Andy along in the last few days and the two men have been really pushing ahead to try and catch the boat in front, ‘Black Forest Rowers’, despite some fairly heavy seas.

Tim and Andy are expected to arrive at the finish line in Nelson’s Port, Antigua early next week.

The Oar Mighty Mates team are keen to thank everyone for their support in raising money for Dementia UK and baby loss charity Abigail’s Footsteps. Anyone wanting to donate should visit the Oar Mighty Mates website.

Being so close to the finish means a lot to Andy, who was supposed to take part in the challenge last year, and Tim, who is finally taking part in the row after more than a decade of training and supporting other ocean rowers.