Hands on the mend albeit a tad tender!!

Dear all, it is with great disappointment that due to damage to my rudder sustained in the extremely bad weather that has hit the Canary Islands over the past few weeks, I have had to retire from my row. It is difficult to describe how I feel at the moment, especially for the many people that have spent many hours helping behind the scenes.The boat was unfortunately damaged in the rescue so I am arranging repairs and other logistics. I have yet to make a decision about the future but I would just like to thank everyone for their donations and also all the messages of support. I will give an account of the row in the near future. Regards Anthony

I came home yesterday morning at about 1130hrs to a flashing answer phone with a message from Anthony timed at 0930, asking me to contact him. This was not our normal routine so I was worried that a problem had arisen out at sea. I tried in vain to make contact using a normal text message and tried to call the sat-phone with no luck. It was not until 1330 hrs that Anthony made contact. Feeling very downhearted Anthony explained that during the extremely bad weather that he had been experiencing, the rudder had been ripped from its fixings on the boat and was hanging on by its control lines. It was now obvious that without the ability to steer the boat the challenge would have to be aborted. With a heavy heart, Anthony had to make a decision as to how to contact the Spanish authorities for assistance. Apart from the rudder crashing against the side of the boat, there was no additional danger. The decision was made that rather than set off the emergency rescue devise, I would contact Falmouth Coastguard on his behalf, and they would be able to contact the Spanish equivalent and send assistance. Anthony’s position at that time was 26deg19minN 19deg02minW with a large swell affecting the boat. The parachute anchor had been out for almost three days. At Falmouth, Coastguard, Gerry Anderson, took down all the details and passed the information on to their colleagues in Madrid. The Spanish authorities immediately despatched a boat from Tenerife to pick Anthony up. So far as we are aware, they made contact with Anthony and picked him up at 0200hrs this morning. They are due to arrive back in the Canaries at about 2000hrs tonight. I will update this diary as soon as we have any more information.
BW (Land based co-ordinator).

The weather blew up rough again last night the waves are 20 – 30 feet high breaking over the boat, at least force 6. The parachute anchor is making loud groaning noises as the rope stretches. Its impossible to check the condition of the rudder in case a wave breaks over the boat at the wrong time and fills the pod with water. Access for inspection is through the forward storage pod. The position of the boat is 26deg16minN 19deg00minW. There was no chance of any hot food today, only bottled water and biscuits from the ration packs. Anthony tells me that he is having to bail out the boat because sometimes when the waves come over the boat, the scuppers (thats the holes that let the water out) are too small to drain the water from the waist of the boat. At 1345 today another Tanker made a brief appearance it was the Maersk Maya bound for Lagos. Anthony is coping really well with the conditions but is fed up with the lack of progress. What we need is some positive thought from you all and get this weather moving in the right direction. I have given Anthony all the good wishes that you sent to him via me and I am sure that it makes a difference to his morale. It would be nice to be able to give him some good news on the donation front because that is why he is undertaking this challenge.
BW (Land based co-ordinator)