A Scot rowing across the Atlantic was rescued from huge seas yesterday after his boat became swamped by waves.
It is the second time on this attempt that Niall Iain Macdonald – and the third since his first bid four years ago – that the 44-year-old has had to be rescued.
Mr Macdonald set off from Norfolk, Virginia, 24 days ago and had covered over over 880 miles.
But he was forced to abandon the attempt and was said to have been “incredibly lucky” that a nearby cargo ship was able to reach him.
Mr Macdonald had been battling big seas for at least 48 hours and much of the time he had deployed a sea anchor to stem the effects.
But HM Coastguard received a distress signal from an EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon) at 5.30am (BST) approximately 700 nautical miles East of New York.
The Coastguard sent the position information to the US Coastguard.
Solo rower back on track in transatlantic bid after coastguard fix rudder
A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: “The US Coastguard broadcast a Mayday Relay to nearby vessels in the area to assist, the closest vessel, a cargo carrier, diverted its course and made its way to the rower.
“A fixed wing aircraft was also sent. At approximately 10.15 this morning the rower was rescued. He is now on board the cargo carrier and reported to be safe and well.”
Last week Mr Macdonald’s bid was only saved by the ingenuity of the crew of a US Coastguard cutter after his rudder broke. The USCGC Diligence crew carried out repairs and Mr Macdonald resumed his row.
For freelance broadcaster Mr Macdonald, it was his third go at the North Atlantic row – previously named NY2SY as he planned to go from New York to Stornoway. He hoped to complete his rowing challenge in three to four months. His first attempt in 2104 ended after nine days.
Mr Macdonald, who lives in Lewis and was born in Inverness, was hoping to raise at least £100,000 for the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) and to raise awareness of mental health issues in general, having had his own struggles in the past.