Sky News

9 August 2004

Reporter -

The rescue of four crewmen from the Pink Lady transatlantic attempt came five weeks after they set off for Britain from Canada on June 29.

It was not a straightforward effort - six have died in the 29 attempts to row from west to east.

The details and photograph are supplied by the men's official website.

:: Only 10 crossings on the 2,100-mile route have been successful.

:: The crew was on course to break the 108-year-old west-east record.

Jonathan Gornall mid-Atlantic

:: In 1896, Norwegians George Harbo and Gabriel Samuelson took 55 days and 13 hours.

:: Pink Lady, 10 metres long and 1.9 metres wide, had a hull composed of carbon fibre.

:: Designer Adrian Thompson has also designed Chris Boardman's record-breaking aerodynamic bike.

:: Throughout, two men rowed at any one time, two hours on and two hours off.

:: Each crew member had a personal safety bag with an immersion suit, rescue beacon, radio, flares and food and water.

:: The crew hoped to raise £50,000 for the British Heart Foundation.


Skipper Mark Stubbs, 40, from Poole, Dorset, was captain of the Skandia Atlantic Spirit in 2002 and attempted to enter the record books by rowing from Canada to the UK. The attempt ended after 21 days when, in appalling weather conditions, the boat sustained irreparable damage to the rudder.

Pete Bray, 48, is a kayaker with virtually no previous rowing experience. But in 2000 he set out solo on the North Atlantic Kayak Challenge, from Newfoundland to Ireland. A faulty valve caused his boat to fill with water and sink, meaning that he was forced to spend 33 hours in the near-freezing Atlantic waters before being rescued.

Jonathan Gornall, 48, built his own 24 foot rowing boat in 2001 and ventured solo 1200 miles into the Atlantic, after his partner quit in the first week of an east to west double-handed rowing race. He had to abandon ship after 45 days.

Navigator John Wills was part of an 18-man team aboard Atlantic Endeavour in 1998 which attempted to break the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing. Atlantic Endeavour covered 1000 miles of the journey in 15 days before aborting the attempt with equipment failure.