IT WAS supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime for a Scots-born brother and sister who set out to row the Atlantic.
But the attempt to reach the Caribbean under their own steam ended in disaster for Fenella McAllister and Martin Cruickshank when their boat tipped over in rough seas, leaving them adrift without power on the open ocean.
The pair embarked on the 3,000-mile voyage from Puerto Morgan in Gran Canaria on November 29, but the epic journey came to an abrupt end last Wednesday when their rudder broke and a massive wave struck their boat 900 nautical miles from their destination of Martinique.
Following a dramatic sea rescue, the pair were brought back to Gibraltar, and Mrs McAllister has now returned to her home in Edinburgh.
Describing the “traumatic” ordeal, she said: “During the night we heard a loud ‘bang’ and at six in the morning we found half of the rudder was gone.
“We tried to press on and then the boat capsized. Luckily, we were both in the cabin. I dread to think what would have happened if we had been on deck.
“I was staring out the window looking at everything tilted 45 degrees, with water pouring over the side. Thankfully, it righted itself but the electrics were fried completely.”
Mrs McAllister, 57, said the pair were faced with the decision of attempting to drift to Martinique without a rudder or any communications equipment, or to use the emergency distress beacon and summon help.
With heavy seas all around and Martinique still six weeks away, the siblings, who originally hail from Aberdeen, pressed the panic button and sent out a call for help.
It was picked up by the French Coastguard, who contacted the merchant ship the Glyfada, sailing 40 miles away. Its crew turned round and headed to the brother and sister’s position using GPS.
But the siblings’ troubles were far from over because they now had to climb aboard the vessel amid towering waves and gusts of wind.
The mother-of-two said: “It took about two hours [to rescue us] and the ship was circling us throwing rope lines and life rings, but that wasn’t going to work because we were afraid of getting pulled into the propeller.
“Then they told us to swim, but there was no way I was doing that. In the end they put down a rope ladder and we were able to scramble up.”
She added: “One minute Martin would be up beside me and then the waves would plunge him and the boat way, way down again.
“We were terrified of being caught between the two boats as well. But we made it.”
She said they were well treated by the Filipino crew, and thanked them for their timely rescue.
Mrs McAllister added: “I had never tried rowing before and didn’t like the sea, but when Martin said he was going to do it I couldn’t let him go alone.
“I’m not so much disappointed it didn’t work out as relieved we came through it in the end.”
Mr Cruickshank, 56, who lives in Croatia and was previously a volunteer fighter for the Croatian army in 1991, was modest about his part in the adventure, which raised £5,500 for Mary’s Meals.
“We set out to achieve something and we failed,” he said.
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