Welcome drinks, canapes, raffle prizes, a charity auction and a boat unveiling, accompanied by live music from the Ronnie Jones Trio, will make for a fun-filled evening at Exeter’s The Terrace next Thursday to raise funds for Devon’s Row for the Ocean team.

With less than 100 days to go until their 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic against single-use plastic, Kirsty Barker, Rosalind Holsgrove-West, Kate Salmon, and Laura Try are organising a free night of celebration.

Row for the Ocean aims to raise money for South-West based charity Surfers Against Sewage to help fund SAS’s Ocean Schools programme, which teaches children about the effects of plastic pollution on ocean wildlife. The women are also using the race as a platform for the Plastic Free Exeter campaign, which they set up alongside local volunteers to get the city’s population to reduce its reliance on single-use plastics.

Supported by local company P1 Investment and other sponsors, Row for the Ocean will be setting off in December in an attempt to cross the Atlantic unsupported, rowing in 2-hour on, 2-hour off shifts from the Canary Islands to the West Indies in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge Race.

Other local businesses have kindly pledged support by offering fantastic auction prizes, including a surfboard, hotel stays, dining experiences and a cookery course.

Team member Kate Salmon says, “We hope as many people as possible will come along on the night to help us to celebrate this fantastic project and support our environmental cause. Welcome drinks and canapes are on us, so bring along your colleagues and friends for a big celebration!”

Registration for tickets is free through Eventbrite. Full details at www.rowfortheocean.co.uk/events