By Michael Alexander - The Courier & Evening Telegraph

In an exclusive interview, Virgin boss Richard Branson's former accountant turned yarn shop owner Milli hopes her 3,000-mile solo row across the Atlantic redefines what it means to challenge expectations.

When East Neuk businesswoman Milli Abrams tells people she’s planning to row solo across the Atlantic as part of the World’s Toughest Row, their reactions tend to be a mix of awe and disbelief.

A knitter and entrepreneur running her Tribe Yarns business from a converted cow shed on the Balcaskie Estate, near Pittenweem, the former accountant isn’t exactly the image many conjure when they think of a transatlantic rower.

But that’s precisely why she’s doing it.

The 48-year-old, soon to turn 49, is on a mission to challenge expectations – not just others’, but her own.

Image Credit: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

“Why not?” she says in an exclusive sit down interview with The Courier when asked about her motivations.

“I didn’t think someone like me could do something like this.

“And when I realised that I could, there wasn’t even a question. It was just, ‘I’m doing this.’”

A life of unlikely adventures

Milli’s journey to this 3000-mile challenge didn’t begin on the water.

Born and raised in northwest London, far from any sea breeze, she was a self-described academic child with no interest in sports or outdoor pursuits.

“I was unbelievably uncoordinated,” she laughs, recalling her childhood…

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