 Oliver Hicks has been slowed down by bad weather |
One of the youngest oarsman to row the Atlantic is just days from completing the slowest ever west-east crossing. Oliver Hicks, 23, from Thorpeness, Suffolk, is rowing his craft Miss Olive from New Jersey, USA, to Cornwall.
He was reported 114 miles from the Bishop's Rock lighthouse on the Isles of Scilly on Monday lunchtime.
The oarsman has so far spent nearly 122 days at sea rowing 3,864 miles in his bid to become the youngest person to row the Atlantic solo from the USA.
His aim at the outset was to break the current 62-day transatlantic rowing record but weather conditions forced him to abandon this and concentrate on getting across the ocean.
Quizzed by fishing inspectors
He has already been at sea longer than Frenchman Maud Fontenay, who took 117 days to row the Atlantic from Canada to France in 2003.
Attempting to become the first person to reach the UK mainland by rowing boat will involve a stiff row from the Isles of Scilly up the Channel to Falmouth.
He has reported having to avoid dozens of French and Spanish fishing trawlers in the western approaches to Britain and has been quizzed by Spanish fishing inspectors.
On his 120th day afloat on Sunday, Mr Hicks wrote on his website: "At dusk the rudder cable broke.
"Six hours pfaffing about in the dark and heaving sea saw a fairly unsatisfactory makeshift steering system into place. This will worsen our already circuitous course."
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