The Pink Lady crew's life raft reaches the rescue vessel

The men, who were rescued by a Danish vessel 370 miles west of the Isles of Scilly after storms tore their boat apart are due to arrive in Ireland.

One of the rowers, Times journalist Jonathan Gornall, has described how the men had to fight for their lives when the Pink Lady was torn in half.

"It was by luck and preparation that we survived," he wrote in the newspaper.

'Express train'

Mr Gornall, 48, from London, firefighter Mark Stubbs, 40, from Poole; ex-SAS diver Peter Bray, 48, from Bridgend; and digital mapping specialist John Wills, 33, from Farnham, had been battling to pass Bishop's Rock Lighthouse.

The rowers were 370 miles off the Isles of Scilly when the boat split

The men are now on board the cargo ship Scandinavian Reefer, which is heading to the port of Foynes on the Irish west coast.

Mr Gornall wrote: "At about 0230 (on Sunday) John and I could hear the roar of a particularly big rogue wave.

"It sounded like an express train and hit the boat like a missile in the dark. That's the only way I can describe it.

"The next thing I know I'm underwater unable to breathe. I didn't immediately think I was dead. It was an unreal nightmare. All I could do was try to swim.

"I was aware I was about to drown."

Rogue waves

He described how the crew had put out a sea anchor - a parachute under the water - to ride out Hurricane Alex.

"We were on sea anchor because it was impossible to row in those conditions. We were going to get through the night, the weather was going to be moderate.

Unfortunately one of those rogue waves caught us with catastrophic results Jonathan Gornall 'Dealt a killer blow' Click here to listen to Jonathan Gornall

Earlier Mr Gornall told BBC News 24: "Unfortunately one of those rogue waves caught us with catastrophic results."

A rescue helicopter was sent from RAF Chivenor in north Devon to recover the men, but turned back when the men were picked up.

THE PINK LADY'S CHALLENGE Previous 55-day record set by Norwegians in 1896 Pink Lady at sea for 39 days since setting off Team aiming to raise �50,000 for British Heart Foundation Boat was sponsored by Pink Lady apples Crew rowing virtually non-stop in alternating pairs Trip ended 350 miles from Falmouth, Cornwall

The rowers set out 39 days ago to break a record first set in 1896 and were warned they could face their fiercest storms yet this weekend.

They set off from Newfoundland in Canada on course for Falmouth in Cornwall.

The four had just recovered from rough seas that set off their emergency Mayday beacon.

They also encountered a freak wave during their bid to row 2,100 miles (3,380km) from Canada to Britain.

They were recently forced to go 45 miles (73km) out of their way to avoid heavy storms, while in the first days of the challenge they encountered twice as many icebergs as usual off the Canadian coastline.

The trip had been designed to raise �50,000 for the British Heart Foundation.