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Sally Kettle

Adventurer, author, speaker and event host Sally is the first woman to row the Atlantic Ocean twice from East to West, and once with her mother! She has also taken part in the last leg of the World Clipper race and retraced WW2 heroine Nancy Wake’s steps across the harsh Pyrenees with former Olympic swimmer Suzanne Dando to honour Nancy’s contribution. Sally is an Ambassador for the Girl Guides and a huge supporter of Shelterbox, volunteering as part of the International Shelterbox Response Team. Her speeches are both hilarious and informative, and evoke a whole range of emotions, and her account of rough seas, wild storms, harsh living and encounters with sharks is delivered in stupendous style.

Sally is the first woman to have rowed across the Atlantic east-west, twice. She first took to the oars in 2003. Following an initial set back to her first Atlantic attempt, she was joined by an unlikely rowing partner - her mother Sarah Kettle. 106 days later they made it into the record books as the world’s first mother and daughter to row an ocean.

In 2005 Sally founded Rowgirls - an all female rowing team striving to break the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing. The team of four were struck by disaster when a crewmate left the boat mid-Atlantic. Subsequently the boat lost its rudder in the worst recorded conditions in 200 yrs and a shark attacked the boat - no lives were lost. Unwilling to give up, Sally and her crew completed the challenge. They arrived in Antigua 77 days later, and became the first three-handed boat ever to complete the trip.

Sally’s Odd at Sea (Orana, 2007) – is the autobiography detailing the ocean journeys and the motivations behind them. It's an honest account of her struggles to bring the teams together, and of the difficulties faced when living in a boat smaller than the average bathroom.

Sally has had varied further adventures, and now takes her story on the road as a professional inspirational and motivational speaker, addressing national and international audiences. She has spoken to as many as half a million people, gaining profile through national press and television.

Sally writes and presents pieces for BBC Radio 4, including "Does Hope Help?" for FourThought and "Jonathan the Tortoise - Operation Go Slow" - for From our Own Correspondant. She recently returned from a six-week filming trip to the British Dependancies in the South Atlantic for the television documentary "The Last Horizon" - currently in post-production.

All of Sally's adventures have included the opportunity to raise money for charitable causes. She has pulled together more than £300,000. In 2010 she sailed across the North Atlantic aboard a 68ft racing yacht for The Children’s Trust, of which she is now Honorary Vice President. She also trekked across the Pyrenees with British gymnast Suzanne Dando and a team of women representing the Armed Forces. They raised money for The Royal British Legion. Sally delivers international humanitarian aid on behalf of the NGO Shelterbox, is a Trustee of The London Sports Trust and an Ambassador for GirlGuilding.