Record Claimed in Channel Crossing
Thirty-six Europeans fighting to stop the spread of polio in Africa claimed to have set a record with the first pedal boat trip across the English Channel between Dover and Calais.
The 36-seat craft, with a top speed of 5 m.p.h., reached the French coast Friday after a 6 1/2-hour crossing that the organizers said earned them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Manned by members of the Stop-Polio charity from France, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands, the crossing was only one stage of a trip around northern Europe that Stop-Polio hopes will raise $250,000.
The team will use the money it raises to stop the spread of polio in the African state of Burkina Faso.
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