If my row inspires one man to seek help it will have been worth it

Adventurer Angus Collins is rowing around Britain next week to raise money for life-saving mental health treatment for men. And having survived his own crisis, he shares five key pieces of advice

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Record-breaking rower Angus Collins is a man on a mission. On June 8, he'll set off from Portsmouth Harbour on an epic adventure, hoping to become the first person to row around the coast of Great Britain solo and unassisted.

One of the first major dangers on his 1,700-mile voyage is the shipwreck graveyard of Portland Race, a treacherous stretch of water off the coast of Dorset. Then there's the small matter of Europe’s largest whirlpool - the Corryvreckan, off the Isle of Jura, on Scotland's west coast ~ and the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

“If there isn’t a phone signal then I have satellite communications, so if something goes wrong I can always call for help,” says Angus, who has rowed the Atlantic twice.

He aims to row for up to 18 hours a day, in shifts of eight hours, before dropping anchor and sleeping for around four hours.

Depending on tides and weather, he plans to row through the night because it's cooler.

The rules of the challenge mean he cannot accept help with navigation or supplies, he can't come ashore, and at no point is another boat allowed to touch his vessel.

He’s no stranger to challenges, having broken records on a 3,000 mile journey across the Atlantic with a team in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

But Angus, from Hambledon, Hampshire, has a more profound reason for attempting this feat than grabbing a world record. Five years ago he was in suicidal crisis. On his 30th birthday, he told his family he was with friends - and his friends he was with family. In fact, he was alone on his boat in Essex, and had planned how to take his own life.

“On the surface it looked like I had the perfect life. I'd rowed the world’s biggest oceans and broken world records, I ran a successful boat building business and I flew around the globe to coach elite rowing teams. It was everything I'd dreamed of,” he explains.