66-year-old businessman Kevin Gaskell will attempt to be oldest and fastest to row the Pacific from California to Hawaii with five-man team Ocean5

A 66-year-old businessman who was part of the fastest five-man team to row across the Atlantic five years ago has now set his sights on the Pacific.

Former Porsche and BMW UK CEO Kevin Gaskell is preparing to cross the 2,800 nautical mile route over the Pacific Ocean from Monterey, California, to Hanalei Kauai in Hawaii in record time, targeting 45 days against the current world record time of 52.

If he were to complete the monumental challenge, he would also be cement his place in history as the oldest person ever to row the Pacific.

Mr Gaskell – who lives in North Sydmonton – will be joined by his son Matt Gaskell, 34, Tom Higham, 37, Patrick Deacon, 40, and Stephen Greenan, 40, with the five men dubbed the Ocean5 crew.

Ocean5 will depart the UK at the end of May to begin their preparations in North America, with their Pacific rowing challenge officially beginning on June 8.

Mr Gaskell said: “I’m feeling excited, but I’m also nervous.

“It’s a massive thing, and, you know, every now and then you get a flashback to remember when we turned the boat over in the Atlantic and you realise that once you’re 120 miles from land, nobody’s going to come and get you.

“A helicopter can’t go further than that. A lifeboat won’t go further than that. So you’re on your own.

“So I’m nervous, but excited. I have no misgivings about doing it, but at the same time, I completely understand how tough it’s going to be.

“It’s 50 days in this little boat out in the ocean. It’s challenging.”

Having previously made history as part of the fastest five-man team to row across the Atlantic along with his son Matt, Mr Gaskell knows what kind of challenge he is in for when he takes on the Pacific, although he has been told that the world’s largest ocean will be even harder.

He said: “There are days when the swells are so big. Not waves, not crushing, but swells, and you look up this water and it’s like sitting on the centre spot at Twickenham and looking up at the stands.

“You realise that’s all water. And at first, for the first week it’s terrifying, but then as a boat goes up and goes over it, you start to realise that the boat’s all right. She’ll do it.

“So just let the boat do it and focus on the rowing, focus on keeping the morale up.”

The five men will each row 12 hours a day, two hours on and two hours off in three man shifts, so the boat continues moving consistently.

The non-stop rowing means the men will often only have an hour or so at a time to sleep, which can result in some pretty shocking hallucinations.

Talking about his experiences in the Atlantic, Mr Gaskell said: “Gradually, over days, that grinds on you and by about day 10, 12, 15, you start to go a bit crazy, you start hallucinating and imagining seeing things.

“I mean, I was completely sure where I was in the Atlantic because I could see Tesco. I was completely convinced I could see Tesco.

“So I stand here now and think, what on earth?

“But there was some kind of shadow, and I and my stupid brain said, ‘Oh, look, there’s Tesco Kev’.

“Another day I was talking to my daughter, who was not on the boat.”

Mr Gaskell said that the crew members will have their good and bad days, and on other people’s bad days it will be his job to pick them up and vice versa.

Their near 10-metre long boat called Lady Jane II is made of carbon fibre, cost £110,000 and has three rowing positions, two small cabins at either end for shelter and solar panels which power navigation, communications and water making.

Throughout the journey, each crew member will burn over 6,000 calories per day and they will consume 500kg of freeze-dried food (enough for 55 days) that cost around £10,000.

As well as attempting to get their names in the Guinness World Records, Ocean5 are also taking on the Pacific challenge to raise money for The Lewis Moody Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting people affected by brain tumours, as well as their families.

The team is hoping to raise £150,000 for the charity. To find out how to donate, visit the Ocean5 website at https://theocean5.com/

Mr Gaskell added: “Put your name on our boat for 250 quid. There’ll be a plaque and it’ll have the name of everybody who put 250 quid into the cause.

“If you put 250 quid into our website, we’ll put your name on the boat and you’re part of the fight against brain tumours, and you’re coming with us across the ocean.”