Charity rowers mistaken for migrants back at sea

Four charity rowers who were mistaken for migrants in a dinghy have returned to the water for their latest challenge.

The four-strong ROW4MND crew will spend 10 days crossing the Irish Sea from Pembrokeshire in Wales to the Western Isles of Scotland to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND) research.

Last summer the group were rowing off the Norfolk coast when an independent MP posted on social media that they were illegal migrants trying to land in Great Yarmouth, forcing the rowers to confirm their identities to the Coastguard.

Team member Mike Bates, from Leeds, said the men were "banging the drum" for MND and trying to leave a lasting legacy by raising £57m in four years.

Bates, a solo Atlantic rower and former Royal Marines Commando, said one of the most daunting aspects of the challenge was "the unknown".

"I've rowed across oceans alone and rowing around the coast of the UK is way harder.

"It's the mental challenge that gets you but I am looking forward to being in that nine-metre rowing boat in the middle of nowhere with people that I trust."

Gareth Timmins, who also served in the Marines, joined the team six weeks ago and said he was "scared to death" of what lay ahead.

"We're prepared physically and mentally to go out there and face this challenge but there's no denying that the weather conditions could be really against us."

"It's going to be tough but knowing we're doing this for the charities we're supporting is our motivation through those long, dark hours of rowing," he added.

The crew made headlines in August when Rupert Lowe MP shared a picture on X showing a boat close to wind turbines and wrote: "Dinghies coming into Great Yarmouth, RIGHT NOW".

HM Coastguard contacted the boat and established that those on board were undertaking their first charity challenge, from Land's End to John O'Groats. Lowe later donated £1,000 to their cause.

Bates said at the time: "I just thought it was ridiculous."

Earlier this week Bates and Timmins visited the the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease in Leeds, which will benefit from their fundraising.

They have collected more than £140,000 so far, with money to be split between the Leeds Hospitals Charity, My Name's Doddie Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association,

They eventually plan to row across the Pacific Ocean and the North Atlantic.

They chose the £57m target because Leeds Rhinos rugby league legend Rob Burrow wore the shirt number seven, while Scotland rugby union international Doddie Weir wore number five. Both sportsmen died from MND.

Bates and Timmins are joined by crewmates Matt Parker and Aaron Kneebone, who is also a Marines veteran.

Bates added: "Being able to see first-hand the kind of work that this challenge will support is both emotional and humbling."

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