DICKY Taylor is not unaccustomed to crossing the wide, blue expanse of the Atlantic.

As an IT specialist living and working in the States, he is used to catching the ‘red eye’ in order to visit his family back in the Tyne Valley.

In December however – exactly 80 days today to be exact – the former Tynedale Rugby Club player will be tasting the sea salt on his lips as he sets out on an ambitious Trans-Atlantic rowing challenge.

Along with fellow former Mowden Hall School pupil, Peter Robinson, from Alnwick and another two friends, George Biggar and Stuart Watts from down South, ‘The Four Oarsmen’ are taking on one of the world’s greatest physical challenges, rowing unaided for 3,000 nautical miles across the unforgiving Atlantic Ocean.

Starting at La Gomera in the Canary Islands, their aim is to reach their destination in Antigua in under 45 days and by doing so, raise as much money and awareness as possible for the charities, MIND and Spinal Research.

Dicky grew up at Nafferton Farm, near Stocksfield, where his father, Bill, is farm manager and mother, Margaret, runs Meadows Nursery.

Today he lives in Houston, Texas - scene of last month’s devastating deluge brought on by Hurricane Harvey which saw an unprecedented 52 inches of rain fall in five days causing fatal flooding which killed 75 people and left thousands without shelter.

Dicky, who works out there for digital technology company, Accenture, revealed to the Courant how he helped with the rescue efforts in the aftermath.

“I have a Ford, F150 truck that allowed me to pick people up who were stranded,” said Dicky. “It also meant me and my housemate, Mark Shervington, another Brit from Essex, could make it to the convention centre where 25,000 people had sought refuge.”

The two became volunteers on the night shift there, and his photograph shows hundreds of people on makeshift camp beds.

Dicky said: “The amount of people who donated essentials such as toiletries, clothes, nappies, towels etc was staggering and it was incredible to see so many people trying to help one another out – it really brought out the best in people.”

During the time he’s lived in Houston, Dicky said he’s become aware of the city’s socio-economic challenges, once even being held at gun point during a shop raid.

“However this event really brought out the best of the Texas spirit and I felt really proud to be a part of the city,” he said.

“Just last week I helped a family get back to their home for the first time since the disaster. The streets were still flooded and after an emotional entrance for the family, we had 25 volunteers helping them to dispose of ruined furniture, removing floor boards and dry boards from the wall – almost nothing on the first floor was salvageable and just had to be put out in the front garden.”

Mercifully, Dicky’s own house, which is about two miles west of downtown Houston, escaped the worst of the flooding.

“We’re very near to the main Bayou (river) that ended up bursting its banks into downtown Houston. But thankfully the drainage in our area is good so our house was at least two feet away from the water level.

“You can’t help but feel guilty though, as all the water from our neighbourhood will have been shipped straight to the Bayou, filling it up even faster and affecting the less well-drained areas.

“We were given really good warning on the hurricane and everyone was able to stock up on food and water – so much so that the supermarket shops were completely bare. We got in sufficient food thankfully so when the storm hit we were able to shelter in our home with plenty of supplies.

“What people were not so prepared for was the amount of rain that followed. Houston has always been prone to flooding but what exacerbated the amount of rainfall was the way the hurricane stalled and circulated on the periphery of Harris County.

“Despite being able to travel some places in my truck, most of the four days of rain were spent inside as almost all establishments had closed down.”

Unfortunately, Dicky’s local gym was out of action for a whole week –a small inconvenience in the grand scheme of things but not ideal for the rower, considering this was the lead-up to The Four Oarsmen’s big, promotional ‘24 hour row’ they were to do in London in the first week of September.

However, all that drill-wielding in flood-hit houses and lugging water-logged furniture around, must have built muscle as the event was extremely successful and Dicky was the last to stop rowing.

The men gave it their all on rowing machines from 6pm on Wednesday, September 6 to 6pm the following night in the heart of the city.

“Having the boat in central London for people to see made everything very real and as a result we were able to raise an additional £30,000 in corporate sponsorship and just over £1,000 from the general public,” said Dicky.

Before the hurricane in August, the four rowers took their boat out of Amble and spent three days in the North Sea.

Dicky said excitement was building in the run up to the December 12 launch day for the Talisker Whisky sponsored race.

“It’s really exciting. I have dedicated my life to this for the last year and a half and we’re getting to the point where we’re talking about strategy. Ultimately we’re trying to win the race but we’re aware that even small things can scupper you and you need to be prepared for anything to happen.”

The guys have been following a strict diet from their coach Tommy Matthews.

“He is an experienced endurance athlete himself and is opening up a new gym at Tynedale Rugby Club in the next few months,” Dicky said. “He’s been able to get all four of us who were training our socks off on separate schedules onto a uniform schedule including a strict ketogenic diet.”

This is a low-carb, high-fat eating plan which has seen them scoffing a lot of steak and – wait for it – pork scratchings.

Their boat, the Ae-gir, named after a Nordic god of the sea is a Rannoch 45, the fastest four man boat available that has broken almost every record in the Atlantic.

Their desire to win is driven by their ambition to raise vital funds and awareness for both MIND and Spinal Research.