Atlantic Ocean Valour pair ration food

As the food on board is consumed the boat will become lighter with the prospect of making faster progress

Two young men attempting to row the Atlantic have started rationing their food close to the half-way point.

Tom Rainey, 23, from Devon and Lawrence Walters, 23, from Hampshire left New York on 3 May for Salcombe in Devon.

A spokesman said the pair were being "cautious" about their food, but admitted cutting it was a "struggle".

Team Ocean Valour is raising funds for the Brain Tumour Charity in memory of Tom's father who died from the disease.

A 10-day period of being caught in currents is partly to blame for the rationing said the team

Team spokesman Chris Martin blamed the rationing partly on 10 days of rowing in a circle when they were caught in currents about three weeks into their journey.

The pair are 115 nautical miles (132 miles/212 km) to the half-way point.

"The guys have plenty of food but we are doing shallow rationing to give them a bit more of a buffer," he said.

"It's better to be over-cautious than hungry."

Rainey and Walters each consume about 6,000 calories of food a day to fuel their bodies as they take it in turns to row.

"By saving an extra chocolate bar or meal each day now it will boost the duration that the team are able to stay at sea later," said Mr Martin on the team's blog.

But Mr Martin said the pair had been "struggling with even a small reduction in their calorific intake".

As the food was consumed the boat would become lighter with the prospect of making faster progress.

Walters and Rainey are aiming to become the youngest two-man team to row 3,800 miles from New York to the UK.