A NORTH Wales soldier is part of a four-strong team battling to win an Atlantic rowing race. Carl Powell and his fellow Yorkshire Regiment soldiers are expected to land in Falmouth in mid-August. They set off from New York's Statue of Liberty on June 10 aboard their 29ft Yorkshire Warrior in the Shepherd Ocean Fours Transatlantic Challenge. The 30-year-old from Llandudno is racing against a team of commandos and an US-based team. Along the way they aim to raise cash for the Army Benevolent Fund. Speaking by satellite phone from the middle of the Atlantic, Carl said: " I am tired but not as much as I expected. "We're about 600 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia. We'll be home, hopeful-ly, in mid-August." Carl was born in South Africa and brought up in Wirral. He met his wife Audrey in North Wales and they have one son, Ethan, 13. He said: "I'd like to thank my family, my wife and son Ethan for all their love and support. I dedicate this to them." Apart from his family, Carl misses most climbing into a "nice, comfortable bed." The team row shifts of two hours on, two off for rest. He said the weather was "still very hot although it can be very rainy and overcast." But was tougher a few days ago when they weathered a full-blown storm and had a "very difficult night". His team-mates are Captain Mick Cataldo, Captain Paul Tetlow and Lance Corporal Andy Unwin. Last night they were in second place behind the US boat. Their progress can be tracked on www.oceanfoursrowingrace.com/ daily_progress/positions_chart_all.php | 
