At 22, Thomas Cremona is an accountant by profession. Every year he embarks on a little adventure like the Gozo-Malta swim and the Malta Marathon last year. In 2006, he cycled ‘Across the Arctic Circle’ in aid of Lifecycle but the adventure will be “a little bit bigger” this year, he told me with his infectious smile.

Thomas was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia at the age of four. Following several months of chemotherapy, and years of regular medical check-ups, he was finally confirmed to be in remission. He has little memory of when he was ill, apart from knowing that his mother used to be with him at the hospital during the day and his father spent the nights.

His enthusiasm for life led him to embark on the Row4Cancer campaign – promoting the message “there is life beyond cancer”. But he wants others to benefit besides the personal experience so he is raising funds for Puttinu Cares Foundation in the meantime. In fact, all the money collected from corporate sponsors, in excess of the participation expenses, will go to the Puttinu Cares Foundation.

This idea came after watching Through Hell and High Waters on television, in which a British Olympic champion had taken part. After two years toying with the idea and researching the subject, he started sending out emails and making contact with different team members, eventually meeting Matt, his team leader.

Thomas is a member in a team of six persons rowing the boat Sara G from Morocco to Barbados. The Sara G will be attempting to break the mid-Atlantic rowing speed record which currently stands at 33 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes, established in January 2008.

The plan is to depart in early January as long as the weather permits. Although presumably the most dangerous, January is the time when trade winds would best push the boat across the ocean. When currents start pushing the boat backwards, the team can put up a sea anchor which looks like a massive parachute.

Throughout the event, the team will be rowing in shifts of two hours on and two hours off, with three men rowing while three rest. They must therefore become used to alternating rowing and sleep every two hours.

Upon the successful completion of the challenge, Thomas would be the first Maltese person to have rowed 5,000 kilometres across the Atlantic.

Speaking to me about the boat, Thomas often personifies it, explaining it is five star in comparison with that of competitors.

Sara G is 11.1 metres long with a 1.8-metre beam. She was built with three sculling positions on the deck, thus catering for a crew of six. The boat displaces some 1,750 kilograms when fully loaded including the crew. The forward cabin sleeps two (at any one time apart from storm conditions) and the rear cabin will sleep the rest. The hull is made of Duflex - a composite material with balsa core sandwiched between fibreglass sheeting – and the entire boat is wrapped in fibreglass for additional rigidity.

On 30 December, 2007, the Sara G smashed the 67-day record for crossing the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Australia, coming in at 32 days with 10 days under sea anchor.

Matt, the boat owner, is the skipper on the rowing team. He will also be in charge of logistics but will also be rowing. This experience will be the second for him across the Atlantic after an expedition he took last year.

The full team has never met but each member has the same goal: rowing across the Atlantic in the shortest possible time. They correspond continuously over the internet and are becoming really competitive between themselves, comparing gym records.

Experience was necessary for Thomas to be selected and the other members to be selected for the team. Besides his participation on Lifecycle, he rowed from the Isle of Wight to the cliffs of Dover last September.

His aim is now to pile on some five more kilograms to reach a weight of 76 kilograms before the expedition because he will be losing between 10 to 20kg during the event. While his mother is currently helping him by serving extra helpings, he will have to ingest between 5,000 and 6,000 calories a day during the actual event. The food comes in ration packs of 800 calories each and there are some 10 flavours ranging form strawberry porridge to chilli con carne and macaroni.

He expects the first three days to be the hardest because the exercise and sleeping pattern will be a shock to the system.

“You have to set little goals,” he told me, recalling how he had managed to complete 2,000 kilometres of cycling in 10 days during Lifecycle. He had then realised that the mind can take you where the body can’t because although you can prepare yourself for a physical peak, you can’t know what to expect mentally.

Riverdream, Macmed, Westin Workout, Josie’s Bathrooms, Satariano, Medcomms and Daniel Durrans are his sponsors. Thomas also thanked Alan Curry from Chick Physique for his advice, his physiotherapist Dr Mark Sacco, Alexandra Cremona, as well as his family and friends.

Thomas is currently planning an indoor rowing marathon to be held at Baystreet on 11 December. Further details will be announced in due course.

Follow Thomas on his ocean row blog: www.oceanrowmalta.com .