Army rowers cross halfway point despite losing oars in 3,000-mile Atlantic challenge
A British military team that capsized in a rowing race across the Atlantic have crossed the halfway point of the competition even after losing some of their oars.
The Atlantic Guardsman boat team, made up of four members of the Scots Guards who have been rowing in honour of the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflict, capsized on Boxing Day.
Despite the setback, Max Lawrence, William Botes, James Tate, and Roland Walker, have been doing a great job and continued onward in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
On New Year’s Day the team crossed the 1,300 nautical mile point, along the 2,600 nautical mile line (equal to 3,000 normal miles) from La Gomera to Antigua.
Unfortunately, the team lost two of their oars while in the water which means they will be at a disadvantage due to being unable to continue rowing with three people on the oars.
The team are pushing ahead with the challenge and currently in 13th place.
Despite the loss of another one of their oars they are continuing at a speed of 2.9 knots.
After crossing the halfway point, the team wrote on social media: "Apologies for the limited updates since the team's capsize on Boxing Day.
"As expected, the boys have been focused on the task at hand as they, and many of the other boats battle high winds and swell from every direction.
"The crew have found the last four days challenging on a number of fronts, with morale taking a dip for the first time.
"Progress has been slower than desired due to the conditions. They lost another oar last night, ripped away by the wind, meaning they can no longer row with three people at once, seriously limiting their speed.
"Faults with the auto helm has left the boat stuck sideways for several nights on the trot, and constant beam-on waves and horizontal rain has resulted in the inevitable ingress of water into the cabin, and so a damp bed is now another unavoidable part of daily life."
The post continued that "degrading bums are a constant pain and an unavoidable affliction" with Roland's "particularly unhappy".
The post continued that they are "yet to see these promised favourable winds which is incredibly frustrating", but there are suggestions "they are coming out the other side and expecting better conditions tomorrow".
"The sun is out; sea state is starting to move in the right direction and morale back on track.
"Onwards and upwards."
Atlantic Guardsmen are using the challenge to raise money for The Scots Guards Charity which has already received 26,652 in donations.
The American military team, Fight Oar Die, retired from the challenge after their boat capsized after being hit by a large wave on 28 December.
They were later picked up by a nearby Dutch bulk carrier Hanze Goteborg.
The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge extreme endurance event is an annual challenge that sees competitors row more than 3,000 miles, travelling west from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands, to Nelson's Dockyard English Harbour, in Antigua and Barbuda.
Military personnel and veterans are among the 43 teams who have entered the race, also including HMS Oardacious, a team of Royal Navy submariners.
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