Two Florida brothers, Ralph and Robert Brown, will take to the high seas on the world's longest trans-Atlantic voyage in a 21-ft flats boat on June 27 to raise $3m for military charities in the name of fallen Marines. The I Am Second Wounded Hero Voyage Crossing the Atlantic Presented by Interstate Batteries will embark on a 48-day, 6,200-mile trip from Tampa, Fla., to Hamburg, Germany that includes 20 stops along the North American and European Atlantic coasts.
The Browns will use the Intruder-21, the same vessel which landed them in the "Guinness Book of World Records" in 2007. The pair is out to prove the humble boat they designed and built, capable of sailing in two inches of water, can also weather the rough Atlantic seas. The trip fulfills a 29-year promise by Marine veteran Ralph Brown to honor three fallen comrades (Sgt. John D. Harvey, Cpl. George N. Holmes Jr. and Staff Sgt. Dewey L. Johnson) who died on a 1980 mission.
The brothers will sell T-shirts and attract sponsors to raise money benefitting active and retired military personnel through the USO, Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Wounded Warrior Regiment, Military Ministry, Help for Heroes (Britain) and a Canadian organization to be determined. The ambitious voyage embodies the mission of the I am Second movement and is sponsored by Interstate Batteries, which provided three of its "outrageously dependable" batteries to power the boat.
"This trip became a reality when I recently met Norm Miller at a prayer meeting," said Ralph Brown. "We had volunteers and donated gear but no major sponsors to fund the voyage until I am Second and Interstate Batteries came onboard."
(www.crosstheatlantic.com)
(www.interstatebatteries.com)