EIGHT thousand pounds can buy you a lot by way of a holiday nowadays, but how does a three-month cruise across the Atlantic grab you?

Imagine leaving the sun-drenched harbours of Tenerife and heading off to the white beaches and palm trees of Barbados.

It'd be worth every penny, wouldn't it? Well, maybe not if you're rowing the 2,900 miles, cooking for yourself, taking-on the wrath of the ocean in a two-man boat and avoiding ships in the process.

But that's exactly what Worcester man Richard Wood paid to do, and in the process raise vital funds for city-based charity St Richard's Hospice.

Even after retiring from the Ward Atlantic Rowing Challenge dubbed the world's toughest rowing race he and fellow oarsman Rob Ringer have raised £15,000 for the charity.

After paying up to £11,000 in entry fees and other costs and spending four years in preparation which included building the ocean-going rowing boat the pair set off on an adventure that would have Popeye reaching for the spinach.

With thousands of hours on rowing machines, and four years raising sponsorship, the men travelled to Playa-San-Juan, Tenerife, to start the race on Saturday, October 7.

But what lay ahead would test all of Richard's Merchant Navy and yachting experience.

After starting the race at 10am the duo had their first taste of danger by the end of the first day, when an ocean-going car ferry missed them with yards to spare.

It was on a constant bearing and didn't seem to be altering its course, said Richard, of Northwick Road.

Because we were in a small boat, it was very difficult to get out of the way and it just continued to head towards us. I did become quite concerned.

It altered its course but only when it was within 100 yards of us and just as I was about to release an anti-collision flare.

But more disappointment was on the way for Richard. Despite holding 11th place for the first three days, after two days of horrendous weather Rob who comes from Cumbria decided he wanted to retire.

There are no hard feelings. When you are in the situation we were in you cannot describe the feelings you go through, he said.

Rob had got it into his head he wanted to quit and he wasn't going to change his mind, but it meant the race was over for us.

Richard's disappointment was compounded when they had to row back to land after waiting two days for the safety yacht, which failed to come to their aid despite being sent 30 messages by the duo.

My world was falling apart at that point, he added.

We rowed to El-Hierro, near Tenerife. Luckily Rob had some sterling with him, which we changed so we could contact the race organisers by payphones.

Despite the setback, Richard wanted to go on with the race and suggested he took on the ocean challenge single-handedly.

I knew if I had of given up then I would have regretted it for the rest of my life, he explained.

So, after after discussing his idea with his wife, Usha, he set off for the rest of the marathon journey.

But after being out at sea on his own for five days, he was forced to give up.

" have been told the place I re-started from was the worst possible place, he said.

The locals said the currents had been playing up, and when I rowed 15 miles I would lose five during my rest period.

That was incredibly frustrating, I was losing ground even when the wind was going in my direction.

I cannot explain the depth of my despair, especially when I realised that, at the rate I was going, I would run out of food before reaching Barbados.

Then, as he considered his options, another disaster struck.

I poured boiling water into an insulated cup to make soup and put it next to me, he said.

But a wave came and knocked it over my hand and scalded me. It took my skin off and the best thing I could think of was to stick it in the seawater, which was very painful. It also meant my solo attempt was over. I could not continue.

However, Richard has one last task before closing the book on his adventure.

When I returned, I was physically and mentally exhausted so I've been recovering, he said.

Now I want to make sure everyone who has helped and supported me is paid, all the debts are cleared, and the hospice is happy, he added.

Everyone has been so supportive and I've had a lot of very positive messages. St Richard's have also been excellent. They always said there was no pressure for me to continue solo and have been brilliant.

But that's typical of the sort of support I've had since the beginning, and that's why I wanted to call the boat The Spirit of Worcestershire.