INTREPID rower Dave Brooks is now into the second week of his record-breaking attempt to cross the world's two largest oceans.

Dave, from Topsham, is tackling some of the world's wildest sea conditions in a bid to row 13,000 miles solo around the globe — the furthest anyone has rowed in a single expedition.

And despite a delayed start due to bad weather conditions, he is now almost two weeks in.

The first leg of his trip is with the Woodvale Atlantic race, which attracts teams from all over the world and is run by Simon Chalk, who first rowed the Atlantic in 2007.

When that has finished, Dave will row solo and unsupported across the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal, which will probably be the most dangerous stretch of his trip as it is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Once he has negotiated his way through all that, he will row across the Pacific to Australia, via Tahiti — a total of 13,000 miles in 13 months.

On his blog where he updates his progress, Dave said: "Basically, I'm rowing 13 hours a day, two hours on the oars, one hour off, and so forth.

"This leaves me with six hours of constant kip between 2am and 8am, which is ideal for the muscles and the mind, as I don't have to row during the hours up till dawn, which are the worst, and my muscles and hands get a good chance to recover."

After a week, Dave was lying at around 13th place overall in the Woodvale competition and on day 10, Thursday, he had rowed 52 miles in 24 hours.

The challenge was supposed to start in December from La Gomera in the Canary Islands but 25-knot south-westerlies and 30 metre swells made it impossible for the ocean rowers.

The delayed start meant Dave was able to spend Christmas with his family before returning to La Gomera.

He said: "The race kicked off with a bang at 1.30pm on Monday, January 4.

"This delay has been a blessing, as not only is the fleet the most prepared it could ever be, but we have all bonded and have become great friends."

Dave is raising money for Guide Dogs, the RNLI and Sidmouth Lifeboat.

To read his blog, visit www. davebrookssolo.co.uk.