Atlantic rower in hand-built boat rescued off Land's End

Duncan Hutchison in boat

Duncan Hutchison and his hand-built boat

A Scot attempting to row solo across the Atlantic in a hand-built wooden boat has been rescued off the coast of Land's End.

Duncan Hutchison, from Lochinver in the Highlands, began his journey more than three months ago in New York.

However, just before 01:00 he reported to the coastguard that he was in difficulties and said he was battling 8ft (2.5m) waves.

He was picked up by a merchant tanker - which is heading back to New York.

Mr Hutchison was rescued 863 miles from the coast. His 23ft (7m) boat, Sleipnir, is being towed by the tanker.

He has raised more than £18,000 for the WaterAid charity.

Duncan Hutchison started the crossing in May

A post on Mr Hutchison's Facebook page said he had just reached his 100 days at sea.

"As always, thank you to everyone for your support - Day 101 will be an emotional one for Duncan - and us all," it said.

"The boat that rescued Duncan is bound for ............ New York!"

Another post said that despite coping well with the conditions, a crash of the rower's on-board electrics left him with a decreasing power supply.

"The failure of his secondary battery, was followed by his primary supply cutting out, leaving him dependent on the items he charged beforehand," it said. "It's likely his GPS tracker and all navigation equipment is down.

"He will be devastated, especially with a technical problem rather than a physical or structural issue of the boat.

"Although he's totally dedicated to completing the challenge, today marked 100 days at sea. "

The post added: "Calling this in was probably the toughest thing Duncan's ever had to do, but is testament to his selfless and professional approach throughout the journey."

Duncan's daughter Francy told BBC Scotland her father did the right thing.

"In terms of distance, if it was in a straight line he would have covered the distance between New York and Lochinver, so he will be very disappointed because he likes to see things to a finish," she said.

"I think in the back of his mind he'll know he has made a very responsible decision because he wouldn't want to cause any of the emergency services any trouble and had he left it any longer it could have become quite a situation."

'Good example'

HM Coastguard duty commander Mark Rodaway, said: 'He's been picked up safe and well. We'll continue to keep in touch with him via the tanker crew while they progress their passage back towards New York.

"This is a good example of how well the National Maritime Operations Centre and the Coastguard national network co-ordinates long-range rescue missions. We're grateful to the tanker for responding and rescuing this rower".

Early last month, Mr Hutchison reached the halfway point in his 3,000-mile (4,828 km) adventure. He was aiming to finish his journey in Lochinver on the west Highland coast.

Mr Hutchison spent three years building his boat, which is named after an eight-legged horse from Norse mythology that could glide across the sea.

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