A TOUGH couple of years prevented these senior Southampton firefighters from completing a 3,000-mile row.

But Adam Bundle and Stu Vince are back preparing for the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in December.

The duo teamed up in 2019 to raise £50,000 for local charity Solent Mind and The Fire Fighters Charity, having launched their campaign to raise awareness for mental health.

They were planning to cross the Atlantic in December 2020 but had to postpone their challenge due to Mr Vince, station manager at Redbridge, suffering a serious back injury.

“The day we made the decision to pull out was one of the darkest of my life," he said. "Sat in the Solent at one in the morning in excruciating pain looking at Adam and both knowing the decision we had to make."

“It’s strange how life transpires at times, had we gone ahead I would have missed the birth of my beautiful twin daughters and Adam would not have been able to support his family during some really challenging times.

“We are now more determined, more focused and becoming better prepared.

“The continued support we have had has been incredible and I can’t thank everyone enough. I also want to thank Adam for not going without me!”

After battling through injury, serious family illness, personal stresses and working on the frontline throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the firefighters are back on the water preparing for their 3,000-mile row.

St Mary’s Watch Manager, Adam Bundle, said: "I personally really struggled with the postponement of the 2020 race. We had lived and breathed it for two years and my mental health took a bit of a dip.

“I utilised my mental health training to overcome the disappointment and focused on my family, health and work as a positive coping strategy.

“My mother-in-law was taken ill on Christmas Day 2020, contracting Covid-19 whilst in hospital and spending 99 days in an Intensive Care Unit. She has since made an amazing recovery, but had we not postponed our race I would have been in the middle of the Atlantic, unable to support my family. I guess everything happens for a reason.

“I volunteered to work on an emergency project during the height of the pandemic, overseeing the deployment and wellbeing of firefighters assisting ICUs across the county with proning patients on ventilators.”

This time the pair are joined by Craig Sadler, a watch manager at Cosham Fire Station, acting as a reserve rower and a supporter for the campaign and cause.

Along with Mr Vince and Mr Bundle, he is also trained as a Mental Health First Aider within HIWFRS and is familiar with taking on epic challenges having trekked to Everest Base Camp with a team of firefighters in 2019.

He said: "In August, Adam and Stu outlined their challenge and shared their disappointment at the postponement of the race, before offering me the opportunity to be first reserve in the event either of them were unable to complete the row. I didn’t hesitate in saying ‘yes’."

To find out more about the challenge and their campaign on their website or follow their updates on social media:

Facebook: fb.me/mindsmatterarc

Twitter: @mindsmatterarc

Instagram: mindsmatterarc