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Row2Recovery team faces problems at sea

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A group of injured British servicemen trying to row the Atlantic have suffered a setback after a vital piece of equipment broke.

The six man team is trying to raise £1 million for Help for Heroes, SSAFA and ABF The Soldiers Charity

Two pumps have stopped working, leaving members of the Row2Recovery effort without fresh water.

The team started at La Gomera in the Canary Islands and are currently 1000 miles away from their destination in Barbados.

They are now waiting for a support vessel to bring bottled water, but it will take several days to reach them. They are being rationed to 2 litres of water a day.

Row2Recovery are one of 17 teams from around the world, all aiming to cross the Atlantic as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

The latest blog on their website - Day 27 - says: "Our worst fears have been realised with another serious on-board technical issue putting our chances of rowing across the Atlantic into serious jeopardy.

"We’ve still got around 1000 miles to go until we reach Barbados but at this precise moment we have no means of making drinkable water. Just to repeat, we cannot make any more fresh water on board.

"First it was the auto helms packing up after a few days at sea and now our temperamental, but all important, water de-salinator (an ingenious device that makes salt water drinkable) decided to stop working yesterday. It’s been playing up for some time but we’ve always managed to get it up and running previously.

"Not anymore. It’s gone to the great de-salinator in the sky and there really is nothing we can do about it. To make matters worse, within a few hours of the de-salinator breaking down the emergency hand pump failed as well. It just sheared in two and is no good to anyone.

"So where does that leave us? Thirsty for a start! We do have a solution that doesn’t involve us hitching a lift with the nearest cruise liner.

"The race organisers have a support vessel, Aurora, which has been around the fleet for the duration of the 27 days we’ve been at sea. We’ve been in communication with Aurora and they are on their way from the Cape Verde Islands loaded up with 350 litres of bottled water to re-supply us.

"One of the other crews, Patience, has broken three sets of oars so has no means of propulsion at the moment so the Aurora is going via them first and then on to us.

"We’ve settled in to what’s known as a “hard routine”. It’s a military term used when rations are in short supply. Until it is clear how long it will take Aurora to get to us we will take on just two litres of water per day. That’s one and a half litres to drink and half a litre to re-hydrate food.

"Once we have a clear arrival time for Aurora we should be able to increase our water intake but until that time it’s just a litre and a half each to drink each day I’m afraid. It’s far from an ideal situation, but with 200 litres of ballast water to last six of us we need to ensure we ration ourselves until help arrives.

"We’re eating a lot of muesli, as it takes the least hydrating, and drinking something called Peronin which is a powder mix designed to keep athletes hydrated during extreme sports events. This feels pretty extreme right now!

"Aurora’s skipper Richard seems confident that he will get to us in around seven to eight days which should give us plenty of time. We need to keep our fingers crossed the winds stay strongly behind us as that will speed the Aurora’s passage to us.

"In the meantime it’s just a question of waiting. We’ve stopped rowing during the day to preserve energy and are only getting on the oars when it cools down at night. That’s making sleeping a bit of a problem though because the cabins are stiflingly hot and incredibly sticky and uncomfortable.

"But at least with the tail winds we are still being propelled in the right direction towards Barbados. We made almost 50 miles yesterday without pulling a stroke.

"Despite all our setbacks we remain defiant in the face of adversity. We’re confident we’ve got a plan in place which will enable us to re-supply and get on with completing our crossing.

"It’s incredibly frustrating that technical problems are hampering us so badly but we remain totally determined to get across.

"This mission is about more than winning a race – it’s about showing what can be achieved after serious injury. We have no intention of giving up any time soon."

You can follow their progress at www.row2recovery.com