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Hapless British rowers saved from starvation by Dutch rivals
Last updated at 19:07pm on 16.02.07
Atlantic voyagers Stuart Turnbull and Ed Baylis were saved by Dutch rivals
When bad weather scuppered their chance of rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in world record time, the two adventurers decided to carry on.
But after 57 days of rowing in treacherous conditions Stuart Turnbull and Ed Baylis, both 26, were starving to death at sea.
Their food supply had run out and the hungry and pair, who had each lost four stone in weight, resorted to trying to harpoon fish for food. They became dizzy and lost the ability to see straight.
So they may have thought they were seeing things when they stumbled across salvation - in the form of another pair of rowers trying to scoop the same world record.
Organisers discovered the Dutch pair were in the vicinity and the two crews contacted each other and arranged to meet up for a massive feast.
Around 36 hours later the British pair boarded the Dutch boat, shook hands with Wendel Rontgen and Gijs Koning and dived into a meal of chicken satay. The Dutch pair then handed over enough food to ensure the British rowers had supplies to last them for the rest of the voyage.
Speaking via satellite phone Ed Baylis, who runs his own business, said: "We took 50 days worth of food with us but things haven't gone our way and our food supply finished on Monday.
"Since then we have survived on a bag of nuts a day, we have been starving. We have experienced dizziness and have had the shakes and haven't been able to see straight."
He said the pair had been burning around 7,000 calories a day but were hardly taking any in due to the lack of food.
"We heard about a Dutch boat in the area on Tuesday and made contact with them," he said. "They had loads of food and we rowed like crazy for 36 hours to reach them.
"They made us a great meal of chicken satay and mashed potatoes and gave us some rice, chicken, beef and pasta bolognese for the journey. It is impossible to say how long we have left to go before we reach Antigua, it could be five or 10 days but we have plenty of food now."
Mr Turnbull, who attended Gordonstoun in Elgin, thanked the Dutch rowers for saving their cross Atlantic trip and called them "lifesavers and gentlemen."
It is believed to be the first time one boat has re-supplied another with food during a world record cross-Atlantic row.
Mr Rontgen said: "It was perfect and very nice to do for them, we hope they will make it on time. Afterwards our boat looked like we had a big party. It's definitely meant for only two persons."
The British pair set off in their 24ft plywood skiff boat on December 20 from the Canary Islands heading for Antigua. They aimed to break the world record by making the journey in less than 40 days and raise £200,000 for Cancer Research.
But they endured severe storms and heavy seas which quickly sank their attempt and as their supplies began to dwindle the situation became desperate.
Mr Baylis of Wimborne, Dorset said: "We wouldn't have died. We would have triggered the emergency distress beacon. But it was a bit touch and go for turning to cannablism.
"We set off for what we thought was going to be a world record attempt to row across the Atlantic in 40 days. But everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. The weather has been awful, we have had torrential storms and waves the size of houses.
"We had 50 day packs which included breakfast, energy bars, bags of nuts, evening meals and deserts."
He and Mr Turnbull, a student doctor from Swindon, Wilts, are now heading for Antigua and are due to arrive there next week.
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