A FATHER and son from Tavistock overcame exhaustion, sleep deprivation and strong easterly winds to complete this year?s Devizes to Westminster Canoe Marathon at Easter.

Peter Kersey and his son James paddled for 27 hours and 14 minutes ? with just an hour?s break for food and water ? to cover the 125 mile course, which starts at Devizes Wharf and ends at Westminster Bridge in London.

The plucky pair were among just 52 entrants to complete the course out of a starting line-up of 94 in the senior doubles race.

Propelling their two-man racing kayak through the water at an average speed of 5 miles an hour, and carrying it around 75 locks, they crossed the finishing line in 29th place.

Peter, a dermatologist at Derriford Hospital, said he was very pleased they had fulfilled their goal of staying the distance.

?I was delighted just to finish,? he said. ?Your feelings change completely from one moment to the next during the race, depending on how tired you are. You?re running on adrenaline the whole time.

?We managed to maintain our senses of humour throughout, and we had valiant support from our wives, Diana and Caroline. We couldn?t have done it without them.?

Peter and James entered the gruelling event three years earlier, but were forced to stop after 108 miles, when torrential rain caused dangerously high water level and the race was called off.

Peter said the going was tougher this time than in 2000 and the last three hours were the most demanding.

?The last three hours, you are on the tidal part of the Thames, which means you can?t stop,? he said.

?And this year we had to battle against a strong easterly head wind, so it was at least twice as difficult as the previous one.?

Peter said both he and his son were highly experienced canoeing enthusiasts. James, 30, rowed for Magdalen College while studying at Cambridge University, and Peter does a lot of sea kayaking.

He said they had been training on and off for the canoe marathon for the last three years.

?We?ve no intention of doing this again,? said Peter. ?Our aim was to do it once, but I would encourage anyone with a strong sense of adventure to have a go. It was a unique experience.?

l Also competing in the marathon were four junior teams from Kelly College. The junior event covered the same distance, but was spread over four days.

James Fitzgerald and Christopher Lambert finished in 25h 25m; James Shaw and Michael Yeomans finished eighth in the U17s school race; Philip Jeffrey and Sara Douglas were 8th in the mixed junior doubles and Angharad Mason and Emily Wilson were 5th in the ladies junior doubles.