A Maltese man with no rowing experience plans to cross the Atlantic Ocean to honour his brother who died of a brain tumour.

Steve Chetcuti, 50, and a crew of five others, have begun training for the treacherous and exhausting task, which is scheduled to start on March 1, 2021.

He will be raising money for three charities, two of which are dedicated to help- ing cancer sufferers and their families. Steve’s brother, Mike, died nearly two years ago at the age of 51.

“I lost both my father and brother to cancer, not to mention cousins and friends. It’s heartbreaking,” he says.

“I want to undertake the challenge to honour my brother’s life. He fought hard right until the end and it was really amazing – and at the same time devastating – to experience the courage he showed, the determination, the desire to live and the fight against his illness, and his final acceptance of death.”

The rowboat will be skippered by experienced rower and adventurer Ralph Tuijn, who has led previous Atlantic- crossing expeditions. The international crew will depart from Faro in Portugal and hope to arrive in Cayenne in French Guiana around six weeks later.

“This is our plan but depends on the weather. We’ll delay departure in case of a storm as the waves could push us back to land and that could be very dangerous,” says Steve.

The team hopes to beat the current record by crossing in under 48 days, four hours and 30 minutes. If successful Steve will be the first Maltese person to row from mainland Europe to mainland South America and the second to cross an ocean. Only 1,100 people have ever made it before him.

The biggest fear I have is the mental challenge during the trip

Physical dangers include huge waves, sharks and floating containers which fall off passing ships every year.

“We can also get hit by storms. If this happens, we’ll close the hatches and cram into the two cabins on either end of the boat and sit it out. It’ll be like being stuck in a washing machine for anything from a few hours to a few days,” Steve explained.

The crew will use a Rannoch 45, one of the best ocean rowing boats available.

“The good thing is that ocean rowing boats are self-righting, so the boat will not sink – as long as the hatches are shut tight,” he says.

The team will divide in two and will taking turns rowing for two-hour shifts. The rest of the time they will clean and maintain the boat, wash themselves, eat and sleep.

Steve Chetcuti reacts after running a marathon.

“Around 10 minutes before the end of a shift, you are woken up and must make sure you are ready to start rowing, that’s why you sleep with whatever clothes you are going to row in,” Steve says.

“With regards food, we need to pack enough for six people for around 60 days – the anticipated crossing time plus some spare. We will be consuming 6,000 calories a day – if we complete the row in 48 days, as planned, we will have consumed 1.7 million calories by the end of the trip.”

The food they will be eating is freeze dried or dehydrated, helping keep the weight of the boat to a minimum.

They will have biscuits, sweets, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate bars “for when we need a sugar rush”.

“We will also have coffee, but apparently the taste changes when out on the ocean.” And a water maker onboard will convert saltwater to fresh water to drink.

But Steve believes the real challenge will come from inside his head.

Michael Chetcuti died in 2018.

“The biggest fear I have is the mental challenge during the trip. While it is obviously physical demanding, the mental toil can become unbearable,” he says.

“I will have the support of an experienced skipper and I’m sure he’ll be an invaluable asset. But when you are 2,000 kilometres out in the middle of the ocean, you can’t just get off and go home.

“That thought is indeed very tough.” But for now, Steve is focusing on the positives such as the camaraderie of the small crew – all of whom he has yet to meet. He’s also looking forward to the sunrises and sunsets, the fresh air and being away from technology. The group of five men and one woman are also raising money for three charities. Steve is hoping to collect €30,000 for Hospice Malta, as well as two other charities based in Switzerland where he now lives and works.

“It may be ambitious, but so is rowing across an ocean. I’ll take care of the rowing and I hope that people help me take care of the donations.

“I’m paying all expenses for the trip myself, so 100 per cent of what is collected goes straight to the charities.”

The three charities are Hospice Malta, the Swiss Cancer League and Terre des Hommes, which helps children worldwide.

“I also want to do it for myself. It’s a personal goal I’ve had for many years. Now seems to be the right time to do it.”

The first time he had the idea of doing a row was back in his youth when he planned to row around Malta in a bathtub with a friend to collect money for charity.

“We never got down to doing it, which probably was a good thing as we were not prepared for something like that at all.

“This time, I will be,” he says.

For the next year Steve, who is originally from Sliema, will spend a huge amount of time training. He’s already clocked two million metres of rowing over the past 12 months but wants to have six million metres under this belt by this time next year. He will also do high intensity interval training sessions to build the core, run two to three times a week and lift weights.

“I’m not really scared of rowing across the ocean even though it’s something I have never done. I’m more scared of failing or not managing to get it done... I’m also worried about getting seasick!”

For more information, visit Steve’s website www.crossrower.ch or email him on steve@chetcuti.ch