Cambridgeshire woman with incurable cancer takes on 'gruelling' Atlantic rowing challenge

• Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Natalie Gray

A woman from Cambridgeshire, who has incurable cancer, has been talking about how she spent Christmas Day rowing across the Atlantic.

Kat Cordiner, from St Neots, and her two team mates Abby Johnston and Charlotte Irving started their race challenge from the Canary Islands on December 12.

They are now a third of the way through their 3,000 mile journey.

They're taking part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, which is considered to be the world's toughest rowing race.

Each team mate will row for two hours on and then take two hours off, over a period of 60 days.

Kat says the race so far has been "tough and gruelling" and was a "real shock to the system" for all three of them.

The strict rowing routine didn't stop on Christmas Day. But they found time to open presents, speak to family as well as decorating the boat with tinsel.

Speaking by phone from their boat called the 'Dolly Parton, Kat said they'd celebrated as best they could.

Kat said they had been" lucky with the weather so far", but now it had turned very hot.

"You just get more exhausted being out in the sun, it's pretty tough so we find ourselves getting a bit more tired and praying for a bit of cloud cover."

Kat's raising money for Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and is hoping to arrive in Antigua at the end of January.

Kat said: "It went from being something to give me something different to talk about when I was having treatment.

"But now we are trying to raise as much funds and awareness for three amazing cancer charities that have really suffered with covid in terms of donations, etcetera, and have been instrumental for both me and many people and their families who are having cancer treatment.

"It's about raising much-needed funds."

The team has so far raised half of its £100,000 target.