Four men speak of frightening attempt to row Atlantic
A former University of Chichester student is play- ing a prominent role in a TV documentary about his near-disastrous attempt to row across the Atlantic.
Tim Garratt will be seen on An Island Parish – The Deadly Storm on BBC2 tonight.
The programme documents the attempt by Tim and three friends to become the first men to row across the Atlantic unaided from New York to their homeland – the Isles of Scilly, off Cornwall.
Things did not go smoothly and the programme uses interviews and dramatic reconstruction to document the extraordinary eight hours the men spent trying to survive in the icy waters of the North Atlantic after a storm capsized their rowing boat.
For seven hours they struggled to survive in gale-force winds. Their life-raft was trapped beneath the upturned hull of the little rowing boat. All were slowly losing the will to live.
The former sports and exercise student said: 'It took two years of physical and mental preparation – raising funds and getting our 29ft rowing boat kitted out.
'We managed to row 700 miles in two weeks but on Friday the 13th a storm of 35ft waves and 60mph winds capsized the boat. After an hour in freezing water then eight hours in a life raft we were rescued by a 230-metre oil tanker.
'It was a terrifying experience and at times I thought I wouldn't make it, but am happy that we all made it home safely. It was truly a life-changing experience.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
