Four British rowers battling to break the Atlantic crossing record have completed their first 500 miles. The team are now quarter of the way to completing their 2100 mile row to Bishop Rock Lighthouse.
The team have braved storms, strong counter currents and wind chills of minus 20’C.
Skipper of the Pink Lady, Mark Stubbs, 40, from Poole in Dorset, with Jonathan Gornall, 48, from London, Pete Bray, 48, from South Wales and John Wills, 33, from Surrey, set off for Falmouth from St John’s in Newfoundland, Canada on June 30th.
The four, rowing in their hi-tech 10 metre by 1.9 metre bright pink boat, are confident that they can beat the current 55-day record for the crossing.
Skipper Mark Stubbs told Scilly News: “We had a great start in calm weather, followed by days and nights of storms that pushed the Pink Lady boat to the limits. Having left the treacherous fishing grounds off Newfoundland, we had to row against the currents. This was made worse by the tidal effects of being positioned south of Canada’s Flemish Cap while still within the Grand Banks influence, together with adverse winds.
It be long before the wind is behind us and the currents in our favour when we can make better progress. The next 500 miles should be more straightforward and there is nothing better for the morale than clocking up a high mileage.
We are also looking forward to a bit of sunshine so that our on-board solar panels can fully re-charge the battery and allow us to use more of our electrical systems.”
The men had to deploy their parachute-like sea anchor for several periods to stop the Pink Lady drifting off course to the west. This weekend they will change into a new set of kit because the schedule does not allow for clothes washing.
The rowers are hoping to raise ?50,000 for the British Heart Foundation and are set to arrive in Scilly at the beginning of August.