Former Devizes Leisure Centre worker George Oliver is preparing for an attempt on the record for rowing the Atlantic.

Mr Oliver, 26, whose parents live in Etchilhampton, near Devizes, is in a six-man team bidding to get from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to English Harbour, Antigua, in under 35 days, eight hours and 30 minutes, the record set in 1992 by a French team.

The crew of Mr Oliver, Simon Chalk, Guy Lavender, Ben Thackwray, Mike Martin and Pete Rowlands will set out on December 2 aboard the £200,000 Oyster Shack Ocean Challenger.

The craft, made of lightweight carbon fibre and Kevlar, is the world's first six-man ocean rowing boat.

The crew flew out to the Canary Islands on Tuesday to begin last-minute preparations and training.

Before he left, Mr Oliver told the Gazette he was just too busy to feel nervous about the attempt. He said: "There are so many things to think about. I have had to cut back on the training because I don't want to lose too much weight.

"But I will still have to be fit enough to do the rowing. It is a very fine balance."

There were also last-minute farewells to be said. Mr Oliver took his parents Richard and Ann out for a meal with his girlfriend of two years, Sally Cornwell.

Mr Oliver said: "I am having feelings of guilt and selfishness where Sally is concerned. I am leaving her alone at Christmas and just as we are buying a house together.

"But she is starting up her own business and she will be very busy doing that."

As well as the record bid, the crew want to raise money for the charity Water Aid.

Mr Oliver said: "They provide emergency drinking water in areas of natural disasters such as drought and cyclone-hit Third World countries.

"They also educate the people in the poorest of the world's countries about the importance of clean sanitation and safe drinking water.

"More than two million people a year in these countries die of water-related illnesses, which could easily be prevented.

"Our experiences out on the ocean may not be as extreme as these but some will be close to our heart, such as not having a proper toilet, no drinking water to hand unless we've already made it and proper hygiene is paramount for us."

Anyone wishing to sponsor Mr Oliver and his team can do so through their website www.antlanticsix.com They will also be able to follow the crew's progress on the high seas, as Mr Oliver's dad will be updating the site each day and the rowers will be providing a blog in turn during the month-long odyssey.