An Abergavenny lawyer will be joining the all-female crew taking part in a 200-mile non-stop ocean race which aims to highlight the needs for boys to receive the HPV vaccination.

Elaine Theaker, of Advantage Legal, will join Alex Gregory MBE, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, in the NOMAN Race and the pair will be joined by Di Carrington from Pontesbury and Sharon Magrath from Shrewsbury.

The women, otherwise known as The Atlantic Ladies, will be casting off on on July 29th in aid of the HPV & Anal Cancer Foundation to help prepare for their attempt to row across the Atlantic later in the year.

According to the NOMAN Charity, over 2,000 UK men a year are diagnosed with a HPV-related cancer yet almost 400,000 boys a year are denied the vaccination that could protect them from developing the disease. Girls of 12 and 13 have been vaccinated in the UK since 2008.

Elaine said: ‘We’re really proud to be the first female crew to take part in the NOMAN race for the first time and show our support for the campaign to give men the same protection that girls have from HPV-related cancers.

‘We’ve all been training incredibly hard and hopefully it will all pay off as we get stuck into the 200 miles of rowing we have ahead of us. We’re under no illusion that it will be easy but if it means more people get to hear and learn about the race to end HPV-related cancers then every second will be worth it.’

This year’s race is expected to take over 70 hours with the rowers having to deal with sharks, powerful waves, busy shipping lanes, blistering heat and seasickness. The team of four rowers will share a 24ft (7.3m) long boat equipped with two seats and a small sleeping space, taking it in turns to row for two hours and rest for two hours.

Tristan Almada, co-founder of the HPV and Anal Cancer Foundation, said: ‘HPV is a ubiquitous virus that causes 5% of cancer in men as well as women. These cancers are on the rise yet they are entirely preventable. We’re rowing because we want to raise awareness about the urgent need to vaccinate boys as well as girls so men are equally protected from such devastating and deadly cancers.’

The UK government is expected to announce soon whether the HPV vaccination will be available to boys as well as girls. Eleven countries including the USA, Australia and Israel are already vaccinating boys.