The foursome hope to beat the current race record

Their craft, All Relative, has extended its lead and is now 862 miles (1,387km) ahead of its nearest rival in the Atlantic Rowing Race.

Justin Adkin, 26, his brother Robert, 23, and cousins Martin Adkin, 19, and James Green, 24, are all from Beer.

They set off in November from the Canary Islands to row to Antigua.

Youngest rower

Since setting off they have built up a huge lead over the rest of the fleet.

Justin and James are volunteer crew members with the RNLI's Exmouth lifeboat.

Martin will be the youngest person to row the Atlantic once they have crossed the line.

Their nearest rivals are the Atlantic Four quartet of: David Martin, 50, from Berkshire, 27-year-old George Simpson from Bristol, Glynn Coupland, 35, from Bristol, and Neil Wightwick, 27, from Glasgow.

They have 1,070 miles (1721km) to go to the finish.

The Beer boys, clockwise from top left: Martin Adkin, Robert Adkin, James Green, and Justin Adkin

In third place are Olympic gold medal oarsman James Cracknell, 33, and TV presenter Ben Fogle, 32, both from London.

Their two-man craft, Spirit of EDF Energy, is still 1,182 miles (1,902km) short of Antigua.

Taking part in the race, organised by Woodvale Events, of Newton Abbot, Devon, are 26 craft with solo rowers, pairs and fours.

The world record for the route of 36 days and 59 minutes was set last year by the British team of Shaun Barker, Jason Hart, Phil Langman and Yorkie Lomas, from Dartmouth, Devon.

New Zealanders Kevin Biggar and James Fitzgerald set the race record time of 40 days, 5 hours and 31 minutes in 2003.

The competitors, many of whom had little or no rowing experience, have been battered by storms.