Crew believed to have broken Black Sea rowing record

The crew saw dolphins and shooting stars on their journey

A crew featuring a university lecturer believe they have broken the world record for rowing across the Black Sea.

Dr Danny Longman, from Loughborough University, Leicestershire, completed the challenge with Roland Burr, Alex Dumbrava and Gregg Botterman.

The team covered the 745-mile (1,200km) distance between Romania and Georgia in nine days, 18 hours, beating the previous record of 11 days, six hours.

The record has yet to be verified by Guinness World Records.

'Friendly'

The team rowed with a two-hour shift pattern, day and night, meaning they did not sleep for more than 60 or 70 minutes during the row.

Dr Longman said: "It was a fantastic feeling to achieve the target.

"It's very much a mental game with these endurance events. But everyone got stuck in and did really well.

"We had an interaction with the Turkish coastguard who were suspicious of what we were up to.

"They didn't believe we didn't have an engine and ordered us to vacate some territorial waters. But, on the whole, it was incredibly friendly.

"Large container ships coming by were really interested in what we were up to."

The team safely arrived in Batumi, Georgia, on Thursday evening, following an arduous journey that took them adjacent along Turkey's northern coast.

Dr Longman (second from left) said the team had got stuck into the challenge

"Particular highlights included the really clear night skies, rowing under the Milky Way," said Dr Longman.

"There was one shooting star in particular that was very spectacular.

"And then, on a daily basis, we had dolphins swimming very close to the boat, which was something you don't see every day."

The team were raising funds for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

It was the latest in a string of ultra-endurance events Dr Longman has been involved in.

He said: "At the moment, I'm just enjoying a little bit of downtime."