Rowers rescued after capsizing during charity Atlantic crossing

Published on Saturday 14 June 2008 19:43

FOUR British rowers were rescued yesterday after their boat capsized as they attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean for charity.

Chris Jenkins, 43, Tim Garrent, 26, Wayne Davey, 30, and Joby Newton, 19, were two weeks into their journey from New York to their native Isles of Scilly when their craft tipped over in heavy seas 420 miles east of Cape Cod.

The four rowers, who called themselves the Scilly Boys, managed to call Falmouth Coastguard via satellite phone at 1am, stating they had capsized and were in the two cabins of the 29ft boat.

The United States Coastguard was alerted and coordinated a search for the boat with the help of merchant vessel Gulf Grace and a Hercules aircraft.

The plane spotted the crew in a life raft and they were rescued and taken aboard the Gulf Grace suffering slight hypothermia at 8am yesterday.

James Instance, watch manager at Falmouth Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, said: "We have been assisting the US Coast Guard in any way that we can.

"We were anxious to receive a position update for the boat as we last spoke with the crew at 1am and requested that they should activate their beacon, which we picked up only once at 2.20am. We understand all four are relatively safe and well – suffering slight hypothermia."

The team were attempting to row 3,100 nautical miles across the Atlantic to the Scilly Isles to raise money for four charities – the RNLI's Train One, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the Cornwall Air Ambulance and Above and Beyond, a charity supporting hospitals in Bristol.

They were around 650 miles into their journey when their boat capsized.

Tragedy had previously struck the Scilly Boys' team when one of its original members died suddenly during preparations for the voyage.

Nathan Woodcock, 23, collapsed in his boat at the end of a race in July last year and medical staff were unable to revive him.

The father-of-one was a full-time RNLI mechanic on the Scilly Isles and was replaced in the team by Davey after they decided to carry on in his memory. Woodcock's sister Paula was in New York on June 1 to see the team off.