A MAN who grew up in East Woodlands, Paris Norriss, has returned from an immense 39-day row across the Pacific Ocean alongside three of his friends, joining the ranks of only 82 people in history who have achieved the feat.
Paris, whose family live in Frome, was joined by his childhood friends, Oli Amos, and Barney Lewis, as well as Oli’s brother Harry, as they completed the Pacific Race Challenge which saw them row 3,000 miles unassisted from Monterey, California, to Kauai in Hawaii.
The friends were completing the challenge to raise funds and awareness for marine conservation in partnership with Blue Marine Conservation and supported the Invictus Games Foundation, aiding veterans through the power of sport. They have raised over £100,000 for the two charities.
Paris, acclaimed for his ‘Guy in Dubai’ TV series and upcoming ‘Guy in the Sky’, played a pivotal role in this quartet of adventurers. “I am deeply honoured to be part of this awe-inspiring journey with Oli, Harry, and Barney,” expressed Paris. “Our friendship served as an anchor through every challenge, and we discovered the true essence of teamwork.”
Brothers Oli and Harry who are lifelong friends with Paris and Barney, remarked, “We started as friends, but emerged as four brothers.”
Paris added, “We recorded the fastest one-day time, clocking 91 nautical miles in a 24-hour period. We were also hit by storm Calvin as we reached four days before arriving to Hawaii, giving us fast winds in our favour. This did result in some potentially disastrous situations that were recovered quickly.”
Paris spent the first 20 years of his life in East Woodlands before moving to Dubai after university. Paris is an entrepreneur and in 2018, he decided his next venture would be to create a TV show, called Guy in Dubai, which covered his adventures. The TV show can be found on Amazon Prime and is also played on airlines.
Paris says his love for adventure stemmed from growing up in the nearby Longleat forest. He explained, “I was always adventurous as a child – we would go on endless camping trips and long walks, but it wasn’t until I moved to Dubai when I became interested in getting out on the water. I got my boating licence which was the first step to becoming adept at adventures on the sea, however we as a group consider ourselves novice rowers, who have learnt this from setting ourselves this challenge.”
The team received a boost in their fundraising efforts on social media as the former serviceman now singer/songwriter, James Blunt, ran a competition on their behalf on his Facebook page to name the boat, which was given the name You’re Beautiful – named after his hit song.
Follow Paris Norriss on his captivating journeys through ‘Guy in Dubai’ and the upcoming ‘Guy in the Sky’ series, available on Amazon Prime and 18 leading airlines, including Emirates Airlines.
To donate to the team’s cause visit https://row2raise.com
