Rowing pair safe after sea capsize alert

TWO charity rowers were washed ashore unharmed after their boat capsized in high seas off a remote headland, coastguards said yesterday.

A member of the public raised the alarm round 7:10pm on Thursday after spotting the pair in difficulty before their 18ft vessel overturned off Cape Wrath, the mainland's most north-westerly tip.

They were heading east into Kearvaig Bay, battling 20ft foaming surf and a very heavy swell.

The Durness Coastguard rescue team, and the Lochinver and Thurso RNLI lifeboats were sent to the scene and the Stornoway Coastguard rescue helicopter was scrambled when it became clear the rowers would not make it into the bay.

The pair, described by the coastguards as young men, were pitched into the water when their wooden boat, the Green Cabbage Patch, capsized at 9:10pm. By the time the helicopter arrived at 10pm, the pair, who were wearing lifejackets, had been washed ashore with their boat.

The men, who were rowing from Jura in the inner Hebrides, were not hurt but were cold.

They told coastguards they were taking part in a "row for heroes" event to raise money for injured army veterans.