Boat skewered by fish during Atlantic challenge

Four men competing in an Atlantic rowing challenge say they are still suffering from the "traumatic experience" of their boat taking on water after a marlin strike.

The fish skewered a hole in one of the cabins, inches away from piercing the leg of the boat's skipper, the crew said.

Glynne Dunn, Dan Lewis, Dan Wooler and Paul Adams, from Devon, set off on The World's Toughest Row on 11 December from La Gomera, in the Canary Islands.

The challenge sees teams take on a 3,000 mile (4,828km) journey to Antigua, for about 40 days, to raise money for charity.

Speaking to BBC Radio Devon from the Atlantic, Mr Wooler said: "I guess it was the middle of the afternoon on Saturday, there was an almighty crunch.

"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.

"I looked down and it was only a foot away from me, the water was bubbling up and suddenly there was blood everywhere."

Mr Wooler said the crew did not know if the blood had come from the marlin or the tuna it had been hunting around the vessel.

"He [the boat's skipper Glynne Dunn] suddenly shouted we're taking on water and started pulling kit out of the cabin," Mr Wooler added.

"The hole was huge, there was water literally gushing in.

"The spike not only went into the cabin footwell but it also penetrated the deck of the boat from beneath, through the fibreglass and then a couple of layers to get to the deck.

"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."

Mr Wooler said it made the crew realise "you are very vulnerable when you're out here".

"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 said.

"You learn an awful lot about yourselves and about each other, it was very humbling."

The crew managed to repair the 5cm (2in) hole while battling 15-20ft (4-6m) waves and are now on course to finish 12th overall in the competition.

The Mayflower crew are raising money for Star Scheme and the Mustard Tree Cancer Support Centre.

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