Rower honoured by Bolton naval organisation
A TEENAGER who became the youngest person to row the Atlantic has been honoured by the Bolton branch of the Royal Naval Association.
Rachel Flanders, aged 17, was one of a four-woman crew - the Atlantic Angels - who rowed the 3,000-mile journey from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the West Indies.
The crew was taking part in the Woodvale Challenge Atlantic Rowing Race to raise cash for three cancer charities.
They completed the journey in 74 days, arriving in Antigua on February 14.
The Bolton School pupil was invited to a special ceremony at the Bolton Sea Cadets Unit headquarters in Castle Street, The Haugh, on Wednesday evening.
Her parents, Richard and Louise, and 12-year-old brother Charles also attended.
The Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Barbara Ronson, presented her with a badge, headscarf and telescope, on behalf of the association, which represents and provides support to former Navy personnel.
Jan Thomas ( Mr), secretary of the association's Bolton branch, said: "We were delighted to host a ceremony in honour of Rachel.
"What she achieved was fantastic. She showed real determination and courage.
"It is only when you go to sea for a length of time that you understand what she has been through.
Rachel, from Heaton, said: "I had a lovely evening. I enjoyed meeting all the members of the association and sharing stories of being at sea with them.
"I feel honoured that they wanted to make me a member of the Royal Naval Association."
8:07pm Thursday 3rd April 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
