Four men taking on an Atlantic rowing challenge are still reeling after their boat flooded following an unexpected run-in with a marlin. Their finned foe punctured a hole in one of the cabins, narrowly missing the skipper’s leg, the crew told the BBC.
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Glynne Dunn, Dan Lewis, Dan Wooler, and Paul Adams, all hailing from Devon, embarked on The World’s Toughest Row on December 11. Starting from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, this grueling challenge covers a 3,000-mile journey across the Atlantic to Antigua. The voyage takes approximately 40 days, all in support of raising funds for charity.
“I guess it was the middle of the afternoon on Saturday, there was an almighty crunch,” Wooler recalled to BBC Radio.
“It was a crunching, grinding motion accompanied with the biggest thud in the world. We actually thought we’d been hit by another boat; how that would have happened, I don’t know, because there was nothing around us,” he continued.
Next, the alarmed rower witnessed a horrifying scene.
“I looked down, and it was only a foot away from me, the water was bubbling up, and suddenly, there was blood everywhere,” Wooler continued.
Wooler explained that the crew was unsure whether the blood came from the marlin or the tuna it had been hunting near the vessel.
“[The boat’s skipper Glynne Dunn] suddenly shouted we’re taking on water and started pulling kit out of the cabin,” Wooler told the outlet. “The hole was huge, there was water literally gushing in,” he added.
The Marlin Attack Managed to Pierce Multiple Layers of the Boat
Taking in the scene, the crew realized the damage was worse than they could have ever imagined.
“The spike not only went into the cabin footwell but it also penetrated the deck of the boat from beneath, through the fiberglass, and then a couple of layers to get to the deck,” Wooler detailed.
However, the rower admitted it was nearly a miracle that the marlin attack didn’t result in serious injury.
“If he’d been a foot the other way, it would have gone through his leg, unquestionably, I don’t know what we would have done,” Wooler explained.
“You are very vulnerable when you’re out here,” Wooler waxed about being on the open sea.
“We’re stripped bare out here and in many regards the challenge is your capacity to keep going, keep pulling the oars, keep driving yourself forward when all these things go on, that has been the test,” he continued.
“You learn an awful lot about yourselves and about each other, it was very humbling.”
However, the crew managed to brave the disaster and remain in the competition.
Amidst battling relentless 15-20ft waves, the crew successfully repaired the 2-inch hole in their vessel and are now on track to secure 12th place overall in the competition. The Mayflower team is fundraising for the Star Scheme and Mustard Tree Cancer Support Centre.