More lawyerly derring-do - this time courtesy of insurance solicitor and Obiter regular Carolyn Kirkham.

Not content with trekking, as part of a team of six, to the South Pole in January last year (see [2007] Gazette, 22 February, 9) - she has just rowed - yes rowed - from London to Paris. As you do...


Kirkham, 34, a solicitor with Nottingham firm Berryman, completed the cross-Channel London to Paris Rowing Challenge as part of a team of ten earlier this month - raising £8,000 for the British Heart Foundation. The rowers, called Le FigaRow (inset), split into two teams of five and rowed around the clock for six-and-a-half days in alternating two-hour shifts. They were trailed by a support boat allowing resting rowers to grab some sleep and food.



'The first couple of days are not too bad,' says Kirkham, 'but after two or three days it starts to get really, really tiring. After that, it's more of a mental challenge and you have to eat plenty of carbs to keep your energy up.'



Le FigaRow came second in the race, completing the challenge in 104hrs, 15mins and 58secs, clipped by winning team, Langstone Cutters, who finished in 95hrs, 16mins and 51secs. However, revealing a competitive streak - which Obiter could note is not entirely unknown among legal professionals - Kirkham was quick to point out: 'We crossed the finish line in Paris first though - the race was calculated over a series of ten pursuit races.'



Despite struggling to stay afloat, after a catamaran cut across Le FigaRow's boat sending a wave 'at least a storey high' their way, Kirkham isn't ready to put her feet up just yet. Oh no.



'The cross-Atlantic race [between the Canary Islands and Antigua] is a pull. It takes place every two years but it takes two and a half months to complete... I'm not sure my boss will allow me to take that much time off,' she says.